One of the first big changes I made when I joined Weight Watchers was to start eating breakfast every day. Not ever having been a breakfast eater, my repertoire was pretty small in that area. Over time I came to realize that a decent sized breakfast would help me to stay on track for the entire day; spending a few more points in the morning can set you up for a successful day, especially when your breakfast includes good sources of protein and whole grains. I learned to love egg whites cooked with peppers, onion and spinach; egg white omelets filled with strawberries & cinnamon; veggie & cheese fritattas, and oatmeal. In fact, I have become somewhat of an oatmeal connoisseur, thanks again to Hungry Girl for spring boarding me to many creative ideas. Here are some of my favorite recipes.

Hungry Girl’s Growing Bowl of Oats

The idea behind this is that by using double the amount of liquid and cooking time, you can make a massive serving of oatmeal…from only a ½ cup of oats! The trick is that you must use old fashioned oats; quick oats will not work for this. The base of the recipe for all the flavors is:

½ cup old fashioned oats

1 cup almond milk (or other chosen kind of milk)

1 cup water

Sweetener of choice (I use Truvia)

Bring above ingredients to a boil, then add the extra ingredients for whatever flavor you are making, turn down the heat and let simmer 12-15 minutes. Spoon into a bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken and top with any additional toppings!

Some of my favorites flavor combos are:

• add cinnamon while cooking and top with the fruit of your choice, or craisins
• Black Forest – 1 TBSP cocoa powder, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp salt, 2 drops almond extract; then top with 1/3 cup cherries and 1 tsp mini chocolate chips
• Brownie batter – 1 ½ TBSP cocoa powder, ¼ tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp salt; then top with 1 tsp mini chocolate chips and walnuts
• Lemon coconut blueberry – 1 ½ tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp lemon zest, ¼ tsp coconut extract, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp salt; then top with 1/3 cup blueberries & 1 ½ tsp coconut flakes

Overnight oats

Another great way to get your oatmeal in a quick on the go way, is to make overnight oats. I like to make up 12-15 jars at a time (pint sized jars, I like the wide mouth type, they are easier to fill), then put them in the freezer. Take out about 24 hours before you plan to eat and they will be ready to go! The base of overnight oats is:

½ cup old fashioned oats

½ cup almond milk (or other chosen milk type)

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp chia seeds

Sweetener of choice

Like the growing bowl of oats, you can then flavor these in any way you like. The simplest way being to add some berries and maybe a little flavoring like vanilla or almond extract. Here are some other yummy flavors:

• 1 tsp cocoa, ¼ banana (I usually use half a banana when recipe calls for ¼ cup)
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup blueberries, 2 tsp syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ cup blueberries
• ¼ pumpkin, apple chunks
• Banana bread: 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp maple extract, dash salt, ¼ cup mashed banana
• Cookie dough: 3 TBSP vanilla protein powder, ½ banana, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp butter extract, dash of salt, 2 TBSP mini chocolate chips
• Blueberry muffin: ¼ tsp almond extract, 1/8 tsp vanilla, dash cinnamon, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp French vanilla powdered creamer, dash salt, ½ cup blueberries
• Chai: ¼ tsp cardamom, ¼ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 TBSP sugar free maple syrup
• Salted Caramel: replace plain Greek yogurt with 1 individual container of salted caramel Greek yogurt, 1 tsp salted caramel syrup, ¼ tsp sea salt (this recipe courtesy my good friend Not Really Hungry)

Many of these recipes translate very well between these two methods, with the exception of cookie dough; the protein powder in that recipe doesn’t seem to cook well in the growing oatmeal recipe.

Enjoy!