Category Archives: Food

MyOatmeal.com: 22 Billion Combos of Healthy Oatmeal

This is going to take a while, I thought to myself after seeing there are 22 billion combinations of 100% Natural, Non-GMO, and Gluten Free oatmeal just waiting for me to create and have made to order on MyOatmeal.com.

myoatmeal.com, oatmeal, healthy, breakfast, non-gmo

The founders of MyOatmeal.com, Anthony and Kathy Collova, are health-minded, family focused, and down to earth people. Through their growing business, they donate bags of healthy oatmeal to non-profit organizations and seek out ways to enrich communities everywhere. Obviously, they care, a lot, and I was excited when given the opportunity to create my own custom mix of oatmeal as well as PB Lean (peanut butter powder) to review.

There are 10 steps in creating your custom oatmeal blend:

  1. The size of the bag (1lb, 2.25lbs, or 4lbs)
  2. Type of oats (Naturally gluten free, Non-GMO oats)
  3. Flavors (100% Natural, Vegan, Gluten Free & Non-GMO)
  4. Fruits (Low Moisture, Gluten Free & Perfect for Oatmeal)
  5. Nuts, seeds, and more
  6. Protein
  7. Sweetener
  8. Spices and exotic powders
  9. Shipping frequency
  10. Name your oatmeal

Creating the PB Lean blend is the same except that the step where you pick nuts, seeds, and more is left out.

The first step where you choose from 6 different oat blends proved tasking enough, but the next step was easily hardest.

oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast

I have difficulty deciding whether to use a fork or spoon and if I should eat from a plate or bowl, so the option to pick up to 3 of these flavors was pure torture! Torture that’s totally worth the struggle! By the way, I now use a spork at every meal (seriously) and have decided bowls are always the way to go for me.

Besides my analysis paralysis, the complete ordering process is rather simple and kind of fun. After naming your blend, employees will create your order and ship it right to you to quickly hide from your family and keep for yourself open and enjoy with your friends and family. I created several small bags of oatmeal and PB Lean blends in an effort to try as many flavors as I could.

oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast

One of my favorite parts of the process is that the nutrition facts and ingredients for your order are shown. For anyone keeping track of their macros or simply want to know the breakdown of their food, this is an awesome feature! Here’s what my bag of oatmeal I named “The S’mores is Yours” looks like.

oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast

If you don’t want to spend forever trying to think of a name, I think this name would work for every blend you create…

Here are screenshots of the oatmeal and pb lean blends I created:

oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast, peanut butter, peanut flour oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast, peanut butter, peanut flour oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast, peanut butter, peanut flour

I used monk fruit to sweeten all of my blends as everything else was some form of sugar. I really wish they would offer stevia as a sweetener as that is my favorite all natural zero calorie sweetener. Hopefully it will be offered in the future.

As a fan of overnight oatmeal, that’s how I prepared all of my blends. I used a mostly empty Greek yogurt container to let my oatmeal blends soak over night.

Cool tip:  the beneficial bacteria in yogurt work to breakdown the oats and makes for easier digestion. Try it, your insides will thank you. 🙂

overnight oatmeal

All of the flavor combos I created were tasty and definitely better than plain oats. My favorite was the cookie dough and vanilla ice cream blend; my least favorite was the chocolate brownie and mocha blend.

None of my blends were overly sweet, which I prefer, but the chocolate-mocha oatmeal left a slight chemically aftertaste. I had no problem finishing the bag as it was still good, but I’d probably opt not to pick that flavor combo again.

S’mores didn’t give that awesome fire-roasted marshmallow flavor I was hoping for, but it was darn close. I think it would be better as a PB Lean flavor, which I might do next time. Speaking of, here are my PB Lean blends:

oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast, peanut butter, peanut flour oatmeal, healthy, non-gmo, breakfast, peanut butter, peanut flour

Bar none, the peanut butter banana bread was absolutely amazing! I just added some water to make a low fat peanut butter like consistency to spread on my homemade NuttZo Banana Bread or  just eat with a spoon and instant smiles followed.

The salted caramel was pretty close to the actual thing and gave a pleasing taste that makes it a definite repeat flavor. Same for the snickerdoodle flavor; I love cinnamon, and the combo with peanut flour was tastebud bliss.

Overall, the experience with MyOatmeal.com, from ordering to eating, has been a fun, healthy, and delicious one. If my daughter was older, letting her create her own custom blend would be a great experience she’d enjoy. If your kids are old enough, empowering them to make their own choices like this is a great way to get them eating healthy and having fun with food.

Actually, this would be a perfect gift idea for your kids or for any of their friends’ birthdays. How cool would it be to give a custom blend of awesomeness with their name or some other cool name on it? Maybe use it as an incentive to earn their creation by doing chores, making good grades, or just being a good kid. This is something all kids can totally get into and have just as much fun making as they do eating their very own oatmeal.

Trust me, you’ll have fun too. While the price may seem higher than the standard price at your local store, you’re getting high quality ingredients with an almost endless amount of delicious flavor options. Pretend you’re a kid picking out your favorite ice cream flavor on a hot summer day, only it’s healthy oatmeal with zero guilt!

To help in the price department, MyOatmeal.com is giving all Going Dad readers 15% off their entire order. Just enter coupon code GoingDad15 when checking out and you’ll be on your way to saving on all of your healthy and tasty creations!

MyOatmeal_Healthy_Oatmeal_Logo

Click Here to Order Now!

Remember to use code GoingDad15 at checkout

Be sure to follow MyOatmeal on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for tasty recipes and current promotions. Plus, they’re all good people and deserve our love!

Disclaimer: I provided credit to create blends on MyOatmeal.com and was not compensated any other way. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. So trust me when I say, you want this and must try ASAP!

Quinoa Salad Recipe: Curry in a Hurry

Quinoa is pretty awesome stuff. Being a staple seed in our home, I’m always looking for new and tasty ways to prepare the tiny spheres of complete protein. Since I just bought some curry powder, I figured I’d put our staple seed (quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain) to the test.

quinoa, curry, recipe, healthy, easy

The result was healthy mix of colorful protein and veggies that’s delicious hot or cold. Fluffy quinoa, a little bite from the curry, a big bite from the cayenne, and so many flavors all work magic in this simple dish.

Quinoa Curry Salad Recipe

Our daughter loves quinoa, and since I usually cook it when G-Ma comes over, we’ve coined the term “Quinoa for G-Ma” which she repeats all day long.

Make this Curried Quinoa Salad and double the ingredients to have throughout the week for work or as a quick fridge to plate dinner.

Ingredients (serves 4):

•1 cup dry quinoa; rinsed
•3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 onion; chopped
•12oz package of frozen green beans
•10 – 12oz package of frozen chopped broccoli
1 (15 oz) can of beans; I used black-eyed peas, but you really can’t go wrong with any  bean
•1 cup chicken stock
•2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
•1 tablespoon each of curry powder, cumin, basil, cilantro
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne
•sea salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:
1. Heat non-stick sauce pan.
2. Add garlic and onion. Cook for three minutes or until soft. Add spices and let toast for 20 seconds.
3. Add vegetables, quinoa, stock and salt and pepper (if desired).
4. Cook for 20 minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked (it will be translucent).
5. Transfer to large bowl or portion out into storage containers for each person. Place in fridge to chill.
3. Whenever you’re ready, take out of fridge and enjoy; no heat required!

Quinoa Curry Salad Recipe_2

Feel free to adapt the recipe to whatever veggies, herbs, and spices you have on hand. Just a bag of frozen spinach is easy and adds tons of nutrition to make a healthy meal even healthier……and tasty too!

Quinoa Curry Salad Recipe_3
Going Mom isn’t a fan, so I added sliced beets to my dish afterward. They add beautiful color, nutrition, and taste (to me)!
I love the versatility of quinoa and have cooked it as a savory dish many times as well as in coconut milk with a little vanilla stevia and of course NuttZo for a wonderfully energizing breakfast.

What food staples do you use each week?

Is it boring or something you’d never give up?

I always have yogurt and some form of squash ready to use. These things are not boring and I most certainly would never give them up!

Healthy Chocolate Protein Dip Recipe

How about a healthy chocolate dessert dip recipe that’s easy to make and perfect to enjoy this upcoming weekend? Loaded with protein and creamy goodness, it’s good just eating right from a spoon!

Healthy Chocolate Protein Dip

I’ll spare you the long talk and get right to it. Our time is precious, so why go on about…..never mind, I’ll do that again soon. 🙂

Topped with Greek yogurt and cocoa nibs, chocolate
Topped with Greek yogurt and cocoa nibs

Chocolate Protein Dip

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas or white beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium ripe bananas (the more spots the better to me!)*See note below if you don’t have bananas

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp baking soda

rounded1/8 tsp salt

3 packets of stevia or about 2 tsp; it takes a while get the right amount since so many stevia products are different, so just adjust to taste. If you’re not into stevia, you can use 2/3 cup of brown sugar or honey, but this will detract a little of the “healthy” part.

2 Tbsp raw cacao powder

1/4 cup rolled oats, ground flax seeds, or chia seeds (you can omit this, it just helps to make it really thick)

*If you don’t have or like bananas, try using 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin puree, or Greek yogurt as a substitute. I have tried all of these and still like the outcome. There’s no wrong way, just what you have on hand.

Directions:

Add everything in a blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth, creamy consistency.

The dip will firm up a little more if you let it cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Or make a double batch so you can eat one right away like I do!

This is perfect to treat the whole family, and a wonderful way to get any picky eaters to think they’re getting away with something. Have it alone or smear it on a banana, you’ll be happy either way!

 

Have you ever made a sweet dip that’s healthy and delicious?

What do you think about using chickpeas as the main ingredient?