You are looking at the face of a guilty woman…
I cheated.
On cereal.
I cheated on cereal. But I can explain! Maybe. Ever since I came back to the blog world after my year-long hiatus, there have only been a handful of instances where I’ve had something other than cereal for breakfast, and most of those involved special occasions or vacations. All the other times, this is how I started my day…
What can I say? I love the stuff.. It’s tasty. It’s crunchy. It’s quick. And I’m loyal… or at least I was. See, the other day I woke up with the biggest craving for oatmeal. Out of nowhere. Just BAM – blindsided.
If you read me way back in the day, you may remember the slight infatuation I had with oatmeal…
I ate it every.single.morning, and often again for dinner…
Aaaaaaand pretty much always before bed…
I was a woman in love. Unfortunately, I was also a woman who may have slightly overdone it… I had to give up oats for a while because I think eating them too often led to some kind of sensitivity, and it was at that point that cereal stepped in and became the main man (thing?) in my life. It was there for me when I needed it. Kept me going when nothing else would. Comforted me on those cold, lonely nights mornings. And how do I show my gratitude? By going back to my old flame…
Eggy banana oats topped with plain Greek yogurt, almond butter, and honey.
And it.was.good. So good, in fact, that we’ve had multiple rendezvous since then. Try not to judge me too harshly – maybe it’s just a quick fling…
. – . – . – .
Oatmeal or cereal for breakfast? I don’t know who I am anymore…
What’s your favorite way to have oatmeal? (toppings, style, prep, etc.)
Do you go through breakfast phases? I tend to get stuck on one food and eat it every day for months before moving on to something else. I went through a PopTart phase, a Cinnamon Toast Crunch phase, multiple oatmeal phases, an Eggo phase, multiple cereal phases, a pancake phase, a smoothie phase, a black coffee phase :shock:…
Hahaha! I swear, no one makes a bowl of cereal (AND oats) look as good as you! That runny almond butter shot is totally making me drool! And you know, I STILL have a package of clean instant pudding that I picked up from Whole Foods last year JUST so I could try your oats and pudding combo…wonder what the expiration date is on that stuff? 😯 Lol
I DEFINITELY go through phases with my food…obviously…I mean, I think I’m just NOW starting to come out of my egg phase that’s been going on for what, almost two months now?! And well, the pancake phase went on forever. Sadly, I’m not much feeling pancakes these days…I know, don’t tell anybody…I’ll have to be sure to break the news gently. :-/
I’m still on a bit of a cereal kick right now…though I have flirted with a few bowls of oats over the last couple of month (mostly on the cooler mornings). But I have to say, I love your banana egg oats! Probably one of the best combos I’ve ever had! Honestly, ANY oats with a whipped banana is A list in my book! But the toppings change day to day…I try not to get too carried away since oats are usually pretty filling on their own, but I love warm fruit (or cold for a good contrast) and a little something for crunch! Or overnight oats in a nut butter jar….YUM!! They have to be cold though…I hate it when the taste of nut butter gets lost in warm oats! So disappointing!
I was wondering where the pancakes disappeared to! I don’t know how people are going to take that news… you were like the Pancake Queen.
I know, right?! I’m hoping the desire comes back soon, but if it does I plan on going easy with it…I think I just got burnt out since I was basically having pancakes 5 days a week in order to perfect the recipes AND take pictures! :-/
I just love your blog posts! I feel like if we lived near each other we would be BFFs. I love oatmeal but I have been on a cereal kick lately! Haha. Thanks for being so real! Love reading your blog!
I am a cereal ADDICT! Although pre-race I do munch on a PB bagel, but whilst glancing longingly at the cereal cupboard…nothing else does it for me quite the same as cereal!
HOW COULD YOU?! YOU….YOU…CHEATER!
Hehe kidding! Sometimes you just gotta go with your cravings. I have oats everyday, but in the form of muesli and only for breakfast. Just haven’t felt like porridge in a long time. Right now I am totally in a muesli phase. It’s made of whole oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, yoghurt, soy milk, and blueberries. Omnomnom 😛
Oh I go through this every.single.morning. Cereal? Oatmeal? Cereal and oatmeal? Life decisions haha. I love the look of your Greek yogurt topped oats!
You can pretty much never go wrong with both 😀
I’m positive that nobody makes oatmeal look more beautiful, tempting, and drool-worthy than you! I’d undoubtedly have a major infatuation with it if those almond butter and pudding-topped bowls greeted me in the morning. But the reality is, my oatmeal always looks…ugly? Maybe that’s why I’ve never experienced the infatuation? I’m not sure the reason, but until about six months ago, I kind of loathed the stuff. The mushy texture…the plain flavor. I was a complete HLB outcast! ;-p Since then, I’ve warmed up to it a bit, but it only jumps into the breakfast rotation a few times/month. I tried steel-cut oats in San Francisco and enjoyed them a lot more than rolled or quick, so some little steel-cut experimentation may be happening soon. 🙂
Long story short, I’m definitely a cereal girl! I love the crunch, the convenience, and the variety. I also adore crunchy toast, preferably topped with a little butter, cinnamon, and sugar. 🙂 In fact, cinnamon toast was one of my most recent breakfast phases. Others have included egg white puffs, pancakes, omelets, and sweet potatoes. Right now? Sunny-side-up eggs. 🙂
Happy almost-Wednesday, Amanda! <3
Oats all the way! I like to mix them with flax seeds or coconut flour to add a twist 🙂
I love both cer
Whoops pressed enter too soon! I meant to say that I love both cereal and oats and I switch up my breakfasts every day! It’s usually a rotation of cereal, oats (hot and overnight), and toast with nut butter and fruit. On special occasions its waffles, pancakes, or muffins with nut butter and Greek yogurt of course!
It always cracks me up when I rediscover an old favorite like that. I used to eat oatmeal like it was my JOB but honestly haven’t had any in months. Your photos are definitely sparking an interest again though. So, who knows- it may make an appearance soon.
I’m glad it’s back in your life. Cereal forgives you. (:
All of your breakfasts look amazing.
I am a loyal oat girl… I wake up with oats every single morning. My current favorite concoction is oats (never instant), sliced banana and almond butter. It’s heavenly.
You’re posts are hilarious! I love oatmeal and cereal…please don’t make me choose. I’ve so been wanting to try avocado in my oats, but I typically top my oats with nut butter, fruit, yogurt, nuts, and/or seeds.
I know it sounds kind of crazy, but avocado on oats is actually really good. Especially when it’s been paired with something sweet, like jam or honey.
I def go thru phases…. It was protein shakes then cereal the. Oatmeal…..now I tend to mix it up
Oh how scandalous. Has anyone shared the news with your cereal? How’d they take it? I bet they’re desperate to get you back. Enjoy your oats. My mornings start with a smoothie for first breakfast and then some homemade granola for second breakfast, unless its a weekend and then all bets are off and eggs are in! Yolks and all.
Yay for adding oats back in!!! I missed mine while I had to cut them out. Now, I’m trying not to eat them too often. I have never been a cereal eater for breakfast… mostly because there aren’t any good GF options that keep me full!
Man, I thought you were going to say something much more scandalous than oats! 😛
But dude, sticking to the same breakfast is something I’ve done for like… years now. It’s a little crazy, and I get really self-conscious when a family member brings it up. I mean, I like oatmeal, but I *know* sticking to a “routine” is part of it all… lunches are pretty similar to each other too, and I always have to second-guess myself whether I’m doing it out of habit, fear, simply knowing the amount of calories, convenience, what have you… I feel like it’s all of the above! It’s like ever since my big push towards recovery when I figured out how much I “should” be eating and it was working for me, I haven’t changed much since then… this post reminds me that maybe it’s time I change both breakfast AND lunch! Wonder what your thoughts are as I’ve noticed you and most other bloggers tend to also eat the same things day in and day out for most meals and snacks. Perhaps a future post to explore? 🙂
I’ve actually been thinking about why I tend to eat a lot of the same things on a daily basis, and honestly, for me it’s just that I can’t be bothered to switch things up. Ya know what I mean? Like I don’t want to think about coming up with new things, so I just resort to the old ones. I used to spend -hours- agonizing over different meals and snacks so that I could get as much variety into my eats as possible, but now it’s almost like I don’t care enough to put the effort in. My mood used to depend so much on how much I enjoyed my meals and snacks, so I’d put a lot of thought and creativity into them, but now I just eat and move on. I actually think that I’ve become a little too careless with my eats, which is probably my mind’s way of rebelling against the fact that I obsessed over them for so long, so I’m still trying to find that middle ground.
That makes sense… it’s kind of like going to a restaurant and ordering the same thing because you know what you’ll get and you know it’s good, and don’t feel like risking a bad meal! 😛 At least that’s how I see it 😉
I have gone through so many breakfast phases in the past year or so that it’s insane! There was an overnight oats phase, then smoothies, then homemade pancakes, then homemade waffles, then sweet potatoes with nut butter, then chia pudding, then back to smoothies and waffles, and lately it’s been random as I’ve been trying to work with the limited supplies I have before moving back home for the summer! Honestly, I have to say I’m not a big fan of oats or cereal (well, at least in the morning, I like it as a snack) but I’ve been considering going back to overnight oats after not eating them in at least a year. I do think I prefer to keep my breakfasts grain free or at least with only a little buckwheat or quinoa flour in my waffles, but we’ll see if I want to venture back into overnight oats land!
This post is too funny, I love it! I have been having oatmeal for breakfast almost every day since fall. I love it. Recently I have started really liking egg scrambles for breakfast, oops cheating on my oatmeal. I don’t have time most mornings to cook the veggies and eggs but they have been a very welcome treat!
I can’t choose – I love both cereal (as long as it’s with Greek yogurt) and oatmeal! And I’m pretty sure I eat my oatmeal the exact same way as you: with egg whites and part of a banana stirred in while cooking. Cinnamon and chia seeds are also a must! And then I like to go crazy with toppings like banana slices, berries, almond butter/soy nut butter, granola, raisins, coconut flakes, etc.
I still don’t even have words for this. You’re not the person I thought you were… 😉
I’m definitely more of an oatmeal person…I do eat cereal once in a while, but oatmeal at least 5-6 days a week. Most preferred method is cinnamon oats with peanut butter, blueberry jam and a fried egg on top, but once in a while I’ll switch out the egg for a banana.
But definitely yes on the breakfast phase. In the past couple of years I’ve gone through an almond-butter -and-banana slices english muffin phase, a protein pancake phase, the current oatmeal phase, and the yogurt bowl phase. I pick one thing, and then I become too lazy for anything else for a while, apparently.
Hehe I think laziness plays a big part of it for me too. I just can’t be bothered to come up with something new to eat so I just go with the same old, same old. But hey, if it ain’t broke… 😉
I used to eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast, then kind of got sick of it. Since the weathers warmed up I’ve been craving cold oats (either overnight oats or cookie dough cereal), so I’ve been switching it up! I used to never like cereal (gasp!) but I found that when I put the right toppings on it can actually make quite the filling and tasty breakfast 🙂
Why do all your breakfast posts always look so freakin’ amazing?!?!?!?!?! I can’t stand it.
I definitely have phases. I circle between cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, and back again. The occasional pop tart happens too, it’s normal.
I don’t know who you are anymore. Even I’M having an identity crisis, now! 😉
I don’t like oatmeal… or quinoa. I recently had a revelation that I was only eating them because they’re “healthy” & it seemed like the right thing to do. Kind of like brushing my teeth & taking the garbage out. I like the idea of oatmeal (& the smell!) – a big bowl of warm comforting, milky brown sugar goodness, but the texture grosses me out. Cold oats are ok though (like Fitnessista’s cookie dough oats!).
My breakfasts are usually something eggy like an omelette or runny yolks, or fruit & yogurt, a green smoothie or a coconut flour waffle/pancake.
Believe it or not, I’ve actually gotten the identity crisis thing from a few people… But can we still be friends if I tell you that I don’t like quinoa either? I tried to get into it because of the health benefits and all, but it’s a texture thing for me… the little alien pellets just skeeve me out.
Hmmm…now that’s a tough choice. I couldn’t possibly choose one so I will have to say both! 🙂
Maybe you’re just not a one-man (one-breakfast?) woman. That’s okay! We can’t all settle down, you know 😛 I think having oats every once in awhile is a good thing – after all, what if the same thing that happened to you with oats happened with cereal?? You’d have to go crawling back to oatmeal after that anyways lol. I go through phases with breakfast too, where I’ll eat the same thing every day for a looong time, and then switch to something else for another loong time…I guess I’m a serial (cereal?) monogamist lol.
I don’t think I could ever cheat on cereal!! haha
Oh, man. That’s a tough call! I think that, for breakfast, I’d have to say oatmeal. Especially some oatmeal with cinnamon, bananas, some brown sugar, maybe some almonds… It’s just so hearty, and what with the whole overnight-oats thing, I don’t even need to worry about eating them during the summer. When it comes to dessert, however, I’m ALL about the cereal. I usually keep a couple different types on hand (healthy, semi-healthy, all sugar) for whatever mood strikes 🙂
I’m not a huge cereal person- don’t kill me! 😉 I alternate between smoothies and oatmeal, depending on whether it’s hot or cold. (or… pie. omg I could eat pie everyday!)
Yum! Every single breakfast picture you posted whether it was cereal or oats looked so ridiculously good. Come make my breakfasts? I’ll repay you in smiles and hugs 🙂 I am a big steel cut oats fan because I can make it ahead of time and then just take it to work with me in a thermos. I like to top it with coconut flakes, fresh strawberries, cinnamon, flax, and some PB2. If I’m out of fresh fruit, I’ll opt for dried cranberries and blueberries. It helps tide me over until lunchtime.
Smiles and hugs, eh? Add coffee to that and you’ve got yourself a deal 😀
Yay I’m not the only one who adds Greek yogurt to oatmeal! I thought I was a loner on that level! I’ve been in an oatmeal-for-breakfast phase for about a year now. I alternate between that an eggs with avocado. Cereal, however, is beginning to make quite an appearance in my evening snack routine!
Though I eat oats more often than cereal, I’m not sure which I prefer most. It really depends on my mood. I’m glad you two could be reunited. Oats called; they told me they missed you.
Do you microwave your almond butter before putting it on your cereal/oats? It always looks so delicious! I’m definitely an oatmeal fan. I do go through stages like you were saying where I eat one thing for weeks (like banana pancakes or oat muffins). My favorite way to eat oatmeal used to be adding a ton of brown sugar but I’ve since learned to enjoy it with just peanut butter and almond milk. 😀
Nope! No microwaving here… the one I buy (Maisie Jane’s) is just super drippy as long as you stir it properly.
Cheating on cereal! You’re actually the reason I’ve been eating cereal for the last three weeks 🙂 Recently I’ve been eating greek yogurt or cottage cheese topped with a fruit , my favorite cereal, and AB or PB.