An Oatmeal Recipe You'll Thank Me For

An oldie but a goodie. This is a recipe that nearly rivals my addiction to caffeine. It's awesome to make for breakfast or lunch, tastes a-m-a-z-i-n-g, is filling, and easy to take to work and/or on the road. I've been eating this on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis for the past two years. Many of my friends and family members are still making this after I showed it to them over a year ago. Let's get to it:

Crack Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 Cup Steel Cut Oats (preferred) or Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Adjust amount depending on current activity level.
• About 1 Cup Milk (amount depends on how many oats used). If milk isn't your thing, you could use water or *coconut milk.
• 1 scoop Whey Protein Powder
• 1-3 Tbsp Xylitol (a magical plant sugar)
• Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, about 1-2 Tbsp (measure to consistency...Trader Joe's Dark and Hershey's 100% tastes pretty darn good)
• 1-3 Tbsp All-Natural Peanut Butter (adjust amount depending on activity level/goals)
• ½ Banana, sliced (optional...I don't always put this in).

Directions

Combine everything in a bowl, stirring as you add ingredients. Place in microwave for 2-4 minutes (depending on strength of microwave), stirring about halfway through to ensure thorough heating. You can add Splenda as the sweetener, but I don't think it tastes nearly as good as xylitol (even though it's must cheaper). You may also use Agave Nectar (a low-glycemic sweetener extracted from a plant...found in most grocery stores). If using Agave Nectar as the sweetener, I prefer to add it after nuking. It will take a couple attempts to figure out the proportions you personally like to add to make it taste just right, but once you get it, you'll never go back to pre-packed flavored oatmeal that's nutrient-poor and loaded with sugar.

Notes:

• You can also add some fruit on the side, such as some sliced strawberries or grapefruit
• I prefer to get my steel cut and/or rolled oats from a natural foods store, as you can by loads of em for very cheap. If you don't have access to such a market, then plain Quaker oats are a good second choice.
• If going for fat-loss, go light on the peanut butter (measure it, you'd be surprised at how much you use), and light on the sugar.
• If looking for weight gain/muscle building, you can increase the oats and peanut butter used.
• May also add some eggs on the side if you're really hungry or simply need a higher calorie/protein intake.

Note that it's not the most attractive-looking dish (due to the cocoa powder). Many of the athletes at SAPT have questioned my sanity when catching a glimpse of this on my lunch break. Not to fear, as it literally tastes like a peanut butter brownie! Their loss, not mine.

*A great tip I picked up is to boil the steel cut oats IN the coconut milk. Delicious!