Product Review: MyOatmeal.com

Every once in a while, we talk about our enjoyment of oatmeal. There may have been posts dedicated to oatmeal before.

Fine, we’re obsessed. You caught us. If you think we talk about oatmeal a lot on here, you should see the number of times oatmeal comes up in email between Mer and I.

But, when I first happened upon myoatmeal.com, I skipped email and went straight to text! And there was some back and forth flailing.

Because custom oatmeal? Where do I sign up for that??? On the My Oatmeal website, of course! (I’m not even kidding. You can literally sign up for the Oatmeal of the Month Club, and along with sending you a bag of handmade oatmeal each month, they will donate a bag of oatmeal to a hungry child in the US for each subscription purchased).

So, when I got the chance to do a review for myoatmeal.com, I was beyond excited. To say it took me a while to decide is a vast understatement. I just wanted to make sure it was the PERFECT blend. And there is a lot to choose from! Thankfully, the website is super easy and has lots of information on the ingredients.

Custom Built Oatmeal? Best ever.

Custom Built Oatmeal? Best ever.

First, you decide on your size (1, 2.5 or 4 pounds) and pick your oats. Rolled oats, Steel Cut, Instant… they’re all there, just pick your favorite. Then you add your flavors, which are 100% Natural, Vegan, Gluten-Free and Non GMO. Also, they’re FUN! And then, you’ve get to decide if you want to do add-ins (you really do, I swear). Fruits, nuts, protein, sweetener. There are practically limitless options to make your custom oatmeal exactly what you want it to be.

And then? The most fun part of all? You get to name your oatmeal! (I accept that this might not be the most fun part for everyone, but I got totally dorky with this part. You’ll see below.) I’ve seen some pretty cute things people have done here, including on person who named theirs ‘Don’t Touch This Bag’. I feel you, friend.

If you can’t figure out what you would want in your oatmeal (hardest choice ever), they also have some Seasonal and Popular blends already picked out for you. And, they have a Mystery Blend option if you think “I don’t care what’s in it, just send me some oats!”

Myoatmeal.com also sells PBLean, which is dehydrated Peanut Butter powder. You can reconstitute it with water for a Peanut Butter with 85% less fat, mix it with any liquid, throw it in smoothies, use it in baking, etc. And it’s just as customizable as the oatmeal!

But if you’re watching what you eat, which I always am, one of the coolest parts was the nutrition calculator. It sits on the side of the screen and updates as you add customization. So the whole time you’re making your oatmeal, you can keep an eye on the nutritional impact and make sure it fits your points/calories/carbs/macros/whatever.

All in all, it’s a pretty rocking process. But let’s get down to brass tacks. How does it taste??? I’ll break down each of the products I tried for you.

Mystery Blend Oatmeal

I decided to try out a bag of the Mystery Blend. Sometimes, I don’t have to have complete control! This was one fine bowl of oats, I tell you. It had fruits and nuts and spice. YUM. That said, this is not what I was expecting. When it said Mystery Blend, I thought that the mystery would be solved upon arrival. Essentially, I thought that when I got the bag, it would tell me what was in it, so that if I wanted to, I could order again. No such luck. I’m not sure if Mystery Blend is always the same, or if it changes every time you order. Either way, it was delicious and at only 6.99 for a 1 pound bag, it was a very cost-effective option.

Bananas Foster the People

See? I told you I was a dork. But, once I went with banana bread and dark caramel flavor, the name just hit me! For my custom blend, I added the following: Smash Blend Oats, Banana Bread and Dark Caramel Flavor, Banana Chips, Ground Flax Seed, Quinoa Flakes and Brown Cane Sugar Granules. This was SO good. On the sweet side, which I like. The smash blend oats, which have some added barley, rye and red wheat, were nice and chewy. I hate mushy oats, so this was good. I could definitely taste the banana and caramel flavors. The only thing I would change would be the banana chips. They stayed a little too hard, and didn’t add much in the way of flavor. Next time, I think I’d throw in some pecans instead.

Bananas Foster the People Oatmeal with Fresh Bananas and Caramel Bits

Bananas Foster the People Oatmeal with Fresh Bananas and Caramel Bits

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding Butter

PBLean is not my first rodeo with powdered peanut butter. I’ve had products like this before, and I’ve always enjoyed them. But this was the first time I could customize it! I went with Light Roasted Peanuts, Dark Caramel and English Toffee flavors, and Brown Cane Sugar Granules. This was complete and told win. I made a smoothie with vanilla protein powder, milk, ice and PBLean. Dude. So good. And below, I reconstituted it with water and thinned it more than I normally would to make Caramel Toffee Peanut Butter syrup to go with Double Chocolate Waffle Sticks. Insanely good.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Butter 'syrup' with Double Chocolate Waffle Sticks

Sticky Toffee Pudding Butter ‘syrup’ with Double Chocolate Waffle Sticks

All in all, I’m a huge fan of this company and their products. They were incredibly nice to deal with, and they’re selling an awesome, healthy product line. I will totally be making myself some more. If you think this all sounds like the most fun ever, or even if you just want some PDT (Pretty Darn Tasty) oatmeal, you can use coupon code Scoot15 to get 15% off of your order. Do it! No pressure. Seriously, though. You won’t be sorry. And then you should come tell me what you picked and we can talk even more endlessly about oatmeal!

Win/win.

*The products I tried were provided by myoatmeal.com in exchange for an honest review. 

Breakfast Protein: Set It Up

Life…life is crazy. I mean, I knew this week would be nuts, but this week was NUTS. Two soccer games, one Weight Watchers meeting, two doctor’s appointments, one back to school night and one English paper (not mine). Did I forget to mention a full-time job, cooking, cleaning and fitting in exercise? How silly of me! This week was honestly so full that I barely remember it.

Which brings me to the ideas behind week two of the breakfast protein series. PREP.

Seriously, if you have a busy lifestyle, and really, who doesn’t, prepping meals ahead can be such a lifesaver. And I knew going in to this week, that I needed to be ready. Luckily, there are quite a few protein breakfast options that can be thrown together days in advance, and quickly at that, for grab and go mornings. These are some of my favorites.

Overnight Oats

It’s not secret that we Scoot chicks love our oats. Heck, when five of us got together in April, we had an oatmeal buffet! But if you ask me, hot oatmeal is much better prepared fresh. So, for make ahead meals, overnight oats are my go to. But Bec, oats aren’t super protein-y! No, not high, but they do have some protein. And when you’re making overnight refrigerator oats, you can layer in some other great protein sources, like Greek yogurt and Chia seeds. There are a million recipes for overnight oats, but my tried and true is the recipe and variations found on The Yummy Life. I didn’t take a picture of the finished product. I love you all to much for that. Overnight oats may be delicious and nutritious, but they aren’t winning any beauty contests.

Overnight Oats, Before. 2014.

Overnight Oats, Before. 2014.

 

Egg Muffins

These babies have been in heavy rotation throughout the summer. Whipping up a batch takes almost no time, and then you can store them in the fridge if you’re going to eat them within a couple days (mine never last longer) or pop them in the freezer for later use. And holy versatile, Batman! My egg base is 4 eggs and 4 egg whites whipped with a bit of water, and after that, it’s a free-for-all. Ham, bacon, sausage, shredded potatoes, onions, mushrooms, peppers, cheese. I’ve made these so many different ways, and they’ve all been delicious. And if you’re a fellow Weight Watchers member, these average about 2 Points Plus per muffin (totally depends on ingredients, definitely calculate based on what you add). If these sound right up your alley, the best advice I can give is to order a silicone muffin pan. Makes clean up super easy. Because you’ve saved all this time prepping, you don’t want to spend it scrubbing a muffin tin. Or maybe you do, I’m not judging!

 

Denver Omelette Egg Muffins.

Denver Omelette Egg Muffins.

 

Quinoa

Is it a grain? A seed? How do you even pronounce it? (Fun fact, for a year, I was pronouncing it Kwin-o-a. I’m so cool). At this point, I’m sure this superfood isn’t new to most of you, but it might be new to your breakfast table. Quinoa is the edible seed of a grain plant, and it’s a really good source of protein. I often use it as a replacement for rice, but in the mornings, it also makes a yummy breakfast cereal. When I make a big batch for a meal, I just tuck some aside in the fridge. Voila, breakfast. Just heat it up in the microwave, add some nuts and dried fruit (or really, put whatever tickles your fancy in there), a little sweetener (maple syrup is my drug of choice) and pour some milk over top. It’s similar to Cream of Wheat, which for me, is a good thing. FYI, if you cook your quinoa in chicken stock, I wouldn’t recommend it as breakfast cereal. Becuase I like you and don’t want you to gag.

Cream of Kwinoa?

Cream of Kwinoa?

And that’s how I do breakfast protein, make ahead style. On that note, zoooooommmmm….

Are there any make ahead breakfasts that you love? Tell us about them in the comments! 

All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal

This past weekend, while visiting Meri in NJ and spectating while several of my Scoot chicks and other friends ran the Atlantic City April Fools Half Marathon, there was a lot of eating out while I was in NJ. Which was fabulous (Oh Pop Shop, you own a piece of my heart now)!

But for breakfast, we tended to get down in Meri’s kitchen. There were waffles. There was coffee. And there was oatmeal.

We decided to do an oatmeal buffet on Saturday morning, which in this case meant a really good base (or two) and a whole bunch of toppings.

I think Meri and I have both shared our love of Whipped Banana Oatmeal from Kath Eats before on here. It’s worth talking about again. This recipe reignited my love of oatmeal. It’s hearty and filling and sweet and just darn good.

Mer adding the magic ingredient

Mer adding the magic ingredient

So, for our Oatmealstravaganza, this stuff was just a given. It’s the perfect base for whatever toppings you love.

Perfection!

Perfection!

For my contribution, I decided to go with Zucchini Bread Oatmeal from Oh She Glows. This is a vegan recipe, and while we didn’t make it vegan last weekend (we used regular organic milk instead of non-dairy milk), I have and it’s fantastic.

Breakfast Veggies!

Breakfast Veggies!

The Zucchini Bread oatmeal is a little more strongly flavored (lots of cinnamon and nutmeg), so it doesn’t lend itself as well to some toppings, but we found some that worked quite well.

The All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal Buffet

The All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal Buffet

Once the oatmeal was done, we grabbed everything but this kitchen sink to throw on top: Caramel Bits, peanut butter chips (my new favorite), almond butter, nutella, fresh fruit.

Oatmeal, chick style

Oatmeal, chick style

As you can see, we all went for different bases and toppings. And we all went back from seconds. It was a truly a delicious start to our Saturday!

Do you oatmeal? Tell us about your favorite bases and toppings!