Autumn Muesli

I don't know what it is about muesli lately, but I am all about it. I think it's because I've been setting my electric blanket too high at night, and when I wake up in the morning, all I want is cold muesli.

This muesli essentially just celebrates autumn. Okay, so maybe pumpkin didn't make it in (don't worry, that's coming!), BUT there are pepitas, which are pumpkin seeds, so...I guess that counts! I also used dried apples, raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and pecan pieces. DIVINE.

My first bites were certainly pleasant, but I felt that something was missing. It was almost too light and bright and sunshiny. It needed more autumn. I took a risk and added a dash of cinnamon, and wow, it made all the difference!

Raspberry Plum Oatmeal

I love plums. I didn't realize it until fairly recently. They're such a pleasant size, easy to eat, not messy, and silky-soft on the inside. They are like a beautiful marriage between peaches and apples.

Unfortunately, I haven't had great luck with them in oatmeal. In my experience, they just don't give off much flavor. Pairing them with raspberries was quite successful, though! The raspberries provided the much-needed pow of flavor, and the cubes of soft plums could simply add a little variety to each spoonful.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

To all of you who turn your noses up every time I stir bananas into my recipes where they don't belong, you are in luck! With great self-control, I resisted the mashed banana. I did it for YOU.

Obviously, regular hot chocolate is brilliant. I never realized how much I loved hot chocolate until I moved to the East Coast and experienced the brilliance of L.A. Burdick's and City Bakery. These places serve up rich, thick, chocolate goodness that just coats your throat with luxury. What makes Mexican hot chocolate unique is the addition of cinnamon (and occasionally other spices). I included an optional pinch of cayenne, for I never turn down an opportunity for a little fire!

Gingerbread Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've made Gingerbread Oatmeal before. You might remember it. It was one of my trials. One of my struggles. One of my white flags.

I gave up and just borrowed a recipe from Vegan Yack Attack.

This recipe is mine. Well, I can't take all the credit, of course. VYA's recipe did influence me a lot. However, I made sure to include some bananas in my version because I'm stubborn like that. I'm grateful I did because this was one spicy [insert colorful language here]. The banana helped mellow out all those cloves.

Pomegranate Apple Oatmeal

I'm in love. No, not with a boy (that will never happen, guys). No, not with oatmeal (I mean, I am in love with oatmeal, but that's not what I'm talking about right now.

I'm in love with New York City. This shares no relevance with this recipe, except maybe for the fact that I bought the groceries for, cooked, and photographed this recipe in New York City.

I never imagined myself in NYC. Denver, sure. Minneapolis, sure. Maybe even Chicago, if I felt particularly adventurous. Yet here I am, smack-dab in an authentic New York City experience—slumming it in a scummy Brooklyn neighborhood, surviving a 35-minute commute to work at 5:30 am, eating more bagels than necessary, fighting off the smells of Chinatown much too frequently for my liking, and spending way too much money at phenomenal eateries.

Spiced Apple and Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Peach season has technically closed. Let's be honest—it closed a while ago. However, I'm miserable at goodbyes, so I'm still throwing them in my porridge mid-September. Bite me.

If, like me, you're still stuck in summer, this porridge will help you transition to autumn. It combines summer's peach with autumn's apple, and I spiced it with an earthy blend of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

Strawberry Pineapple Oatmeal

If you haven't already done so....please check out my new recipe index at your earliest convenience! Over the month of August, I spent hours (at least 30) plugging in all my recipes (all 200+ of them!) to a professional formatter. You've probably noticed that my blog displays recipes differently than they used to (and you can Pin and Tweet directly from the recipe), but the other intention was to have a more attractive recipe index. So click on "Recipe Index" above and "oooh" and "ahhhh" at all the prettiness!

Once you do that, come back and try this new recipe. It's less than five ingredients, which I think is always a plus. I really appreciate a recipe that stars fruit and only fruit...no expensive extracts or nuts necessary!

Tiger Stripes Oatmeal

Confession: it took me less than a week to polish off this jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. I have no regrets. I'm not ashamed.

I got to make all the recipes I was hoping to make, so that expensive jar served its purpose. It served its purpose well, in fact. For example, it really made this particular recipe a treat. Oranges in oatmeal tend to be somewhat lackluster on their own. I worried about this porridge being too "plain." If you look at the ingredients list, after all, the orange basically has to hold its own.

However, a little bit of Dark Chocolate Dreams was all it took to make this extraordinary.

Raspberry Fudge Oatmeal

I must say, I'm an avid supporter of these creamy, fudgy porridges. Seriously, what could be better than a bowl of whole grain oatmeal with no added sugar that tastes exactly like the batter of a chocolate dessert?! I love the decadent base of my Fudgy Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal; the Brownie Batter Oatmeal is to-die for; and now I have Raspberry Fudge to add to my list.

This oatmeal is perfect for those of you who want the creamy fudginess of my chocolate recipes, but without the banana. As much as I worship bananas in my oatmeal, I totally understand those of you who are averse. I myself went through an anti-banana phase. If you like raspberries, here is your solution.

Berry and Fig Oatmeal

For all of my fig lovers out there (and there appears to be a large herd of you), this recipe comes as both a gift and an apology. Although this may rock your world and taste divine, I must share with you that this will be my final fig recipe until next year.

Take a deep breath. You will survive this.

I've enjoyed working with figs and getting to know them, but fig season is escaping us. Actually, I can't tell you exactly what months fig season runs, but something tells me figs have a short season. It just seems like one of those fruits.

Apple and Sweet Potato Oatmeal

I must admit that I’ve been pining to incorporate sweet potatoes into my porridge again all summer. I somehow managed to resist until the end of August (when I made my Sweet Potato & Soyrizo Oatmeal), and here I am again, writing up another sweet potato post.

What I find especially charming about sweet potatoes is its versatility. It functions beautifully in both savory and sweet recipes. Last week, I showed how to make it savory (with the soyrizo). Now, I paired it with apple and earthy apple pie spices to bring out its dessert-like qualities.

Dark Chocolate Dreams Oatmeal

If you've read anything on my blog, you're probably well versed in my lust for peanut butter. I think we're all clear on that, right? I've also mentioned my adoration for a certain sandwich shop in Greenwich Village. It's called Peanut Butter & Co. and it was basically designed specifically for me (I'm pretty sure my name is even on the blueprint somewhere).

Peanut Butter & Co. blows my mind for two main reasons: 1) flavored peanut butter with no trans fats (although there is palm oil, unfortunately), and 2) GOURMET PB&J SANDWICHES. Each of their peanut butter flavors stars in its own special sandwich, which you can request toasted (and why wouldn't you?!).

This porridge does not replicate the Dark Chocolate Dreams sandwich, which actually consists of cherry jam and shredded coconut to taste like a black forest cake. I already have a Black Forest Cake Oatmeal, so instead, I went a different route.

Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Dewi!

I met Dewi, this month's Oatmeal Enthusiast, in the wonderful world of Twitter. A supporter of my blog, he also has his own blog, The Boy Can Cook, where he shares some of his own oatmeal recipes. He's an avid fan of overnight oats, and I've been so appreciative of his endless raving toward my overnight recipes on Twitter!

Hello! I'm Dewi, I'm a law student from Wales and creator of The Boy Can Cook (boycancook.wordpress.com). I'm a huge lover of food and cooking, and more recently, a certified oatmeal enthusiast. Made official this week by Lauren here on The Oatmeal Artist.

I've always liked porridge (we call it porridge over on this side of the pond) and the very first piece I wrote for my (still relatively new) blog was my guide to making perfect porridge. I love how such a modest, cheap ingredient makes such a delicious breakfast. When I started cooking oats my mother actually told me the method that her grandfather used when making porridge for her. So that's the way I make them now and how I'll always make them, I imagine. My recent mini-renaissance with oats has got my family eating them more often, too, so it's good to know that they are starting their day with lovely, wholesome porridge.

Although a lover of oats, I don't think, until recently anyway, that I could have legitimately been called an enthusiast, as such. I enjoyed the staple breakfast ingredient immensely, but I wasn't what you would call adventurous or imaginative with my oats. I enjoyed the traditional porridge, seasoned with salt and topped with honey, milk and maybe even some jam, if I was feeling particularly wild. That was until I stumbled across The Oatmeal Artist. Not only was I introduced to interesting and delicious flavour combinations to use in porridge (chocolate and peanut butter oats? *drools*) but also exciting ways of preparing oats - deviating from the usual on-the-hob method - such as baked oatmeal and (my favourite method) overnight refrigerator oats. 

Since discovering all of the different recipes here on Lauren's blog, I've been having oatmeal far more often than before. I eat porridge (in some form) pretty much every morning. But this isn't at all tedious as I've been experimenting with my own flavours and I've even brought oats to the fore of my own blog. It's great to have such a delicious breakfast, made even more enjoyable knowing just how healthy these little oats are. I run and use the gym a few times a week, and find that porridge is a great pre or post workout meal.

When Lauren asked if I would like to be featured as this month's oatmeal enthusiast I was more than happy to get involved! So last week, I photographed my porridge each morning, from Monday to Friday.

This is what I chose to make:

Monday: Chocolate and banana overnight oats with bittersweet chocolate chips

This is one of Lauren's recipes and it's my absolute favourite. I tend to add a teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter to the mix too, just because I love the stuff. I had these oats because, being a Monday morning, I wanted to have a delicious and effortless breakfast. I'm telling you, knowing that there's a delicious jar of chocolatey porridge waiting for me in the fridge really takes the sting out of an early wake-up at the start of a new week.

Tuesday: Banana, vanilla, blueberry and honey overnight oats

With this one, I like to add a handful of blueberries to the jar the night before, and another handful in the morning. The ones that have been in the jar overnight soften as their natural sweetness flavours the porridge, and this contrasts wonderfully with the fresh crunchy berries. And how beautiful does this little bowl of goodness look?

Wednesday: Apple and cinnamon porridge

Warming, cosy and delicious. I adore this combination. I grated in most of the apple, used a generous amount of cinnamon, and sliced the remaining fruit for a fresh, crunchy topping.

Thursday: Banana bread porridge

Another recipe lifted from The Oatmeal Artist. I have this combination often. Vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg make these oats feel like a sweet desert. I mashed up about two thirds of a banana and sliced the rest as a topping, and i drizzled over some lovely maple syrup. What a brilliant way to start the day! Amazing with a pot of fresh coffee.

Friday: Baked PB&J porridge

I wanted to end the week with a breakfast which felt more indulgent, so I made baked oatmeal with peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam! I don't have baked oatmeal very often, but I had the time to make it on Friday morning. And, man, did I enjoy it. Warm from the oven, crisp on the top and gooey in the middle. Of course, everyone knows PB & J is a classic flavour combination, and it's at it's best in this baked oatmeal. A great way to end the week.

So, thanks to The Oatmeal Artist for featuring me as this month's oatmeal enthusiast and for inspiring me to get creative with my porridge, the pauper's breakfast which is fit for a king.

You can read more about me, my love of food and see my recipes (may contain oats) at boycancook.wordpress.com.

If you're interested in becoming my next Oatmeal Enthusiast, be sure to show your enthusiasm by tagging your oatmeal pictures with #oatmealartist on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Thank you for all your love and support!

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!