Perfect Protein Oats

Back in the day when I feared carbs, I stayed far away from things like bread, pasta and oatmeal.

I did not realize just how important carbohydrates really are for your overall health and wellbeing — newsflash if you are carb stubborn like I once was and are trying to loose weight, gain lean muscle or all around improve your health and fitness recognize now that carbs are your body's main source of energy; they help fuel your brain, kidneys, heart, muscles and central nervous system.

Alright, so since I’ve seen the light, let’s flash forward to just how much I have come to love, honor and cherish oatmeal. Oats are among the healthiest grains on the planet. They offer a variety of important vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. They’ve even been linked to some seriously awesome health benefits such as weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of heart disease.

So yea, I love oats. And even now, in my final weeks of competition prep and my most intense fat loss stage, I eat them daily. Actually, I eat TWO servings daily.

To give ‘em a little boost I like to add some additional protein. You can do this in a variety of ways {protein poweder, hemp hearts, flax seeds, chia seeds, greek yogurt…all of which I have personally used and ENJOYED!}, but the recipe below uses liquid egg whites because truth be told this creates one of the best oatmeal textures ever. So creamy and so much volume.

You can really use whatever oatmeal you’d like too! I’ve made this with quick-cook steel cut oats, Trader Joe’s gluten-free oats and currently, when I’m in an pinch I use 2 packets of Quaker Original Instant Oatmeal.

Favorite, Always Perfect, Protein-Packed Oats

Ingredients:

• 2 packets Quaker original unsweetened instant oats OR 56g oatmeal of choice

• 60-90g liquid egg whites {equates to roughly 2-3 whole egg whites}

• organic ground cinnamon

• pink sea salt

• OPTIONAL: splash of almond milk, sweetner {raw honey, stevia}, additional spices/extracts {pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, vanilla or almond extract}

• TOPPINGS: my go-to is some form of nut butter such as the pictured 12g of PB2 powdered chocolate peanut butter, Trader Joe’s Mixed Nut Butter, Trader Joe’s Creamy Salted Cashew Butter or just traditional good ol’ creamy PB

HOW TO: Prepare your oats per package instructions. When using instant or quick-cook, I microwave my oats in water for 2 minutes.

Next, stir in your liquid egg whites until fully mixed well with your oats; this takes a few seconds. Microwave in increments of 30 seconds until you reach your desired consistency; I prefer somewhere between creamy and fluffy, so typically 2 rounds of 30 seconds does the trick for me.

Add in your cinnamon, spices, sweetener and/or extracts, give it a good stir and microwave again for 10-20 seconds to really let those flavors meld. Top with your favorite nut butter and sprinkle with a little sea salt to bring out all that peanut/cashew/almond buttery goodness.

Side note: These fool proof oats can EASILY be pre-pared ahead of time. I’ve actually been making these oats the night before, refrigterating and then reheating for 2 minutes in the microwave when I get to the office, post-morning workout. The peanut butter gets all melty and gooey and swirls right in. It’s heaven.

Enjoy!

Xo Kelly