While getting ready to put the finishing touches on my breakfast this morning, I was met with quite a sad sight indeed…
My beloved jar of almond butter only had a few meager scraps left in the bottom. Le boo. Many would see this as a cause for celebration – a chance to whip up a batch of the ever popular OIAJ (oats in a jar), but not this girl. Nuh uh. This girl simply saw it as a cause to crack open a new jar…
… so that she could enjoy her oats the way she loves them – in a bowl…
…. with all of her favorite toppings spread out nicely…
I admit that I’ve never actually tried OIAJ, and I most likely never will. I should probably give them a shot before writing them off completely but, to be honest, they just doesn’t sound all that appealing. The thought of having to dig into a deep jar with a tiny opening to get at my food seems too much like work, and I’m not big on my toppings being mixed into my oats either. I like them sitting, well, on top so that the flavors don’t get lost, and so that I can have a spoonful of almond butter oats, a spoonful of chocolate oats, or a spoonful of almond butter and chocolate oats, depending on what I’m in the mood for.
I know that there are tonnes of people out there in blogland who can’t wait to reach the bottom of a nut butter jar so that they can enjoy their beloved OIAJ, but I’m afraid I’m just not one of them. That’s one food blog trend that I’m not too fond of.
Another is the whole “green monster” thing. Yes, I understand that they’re incredibly nutritious, and no, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating (drinking?) them, but they’re just not my cup of tea. I prefer to take in my greens like this…
And my smoothies like this…
This is about as green as I’m willing to go with smoothies…
Anything greener and I’m reminded of some of the sludge that I forced myself to drink choke down during the worst days of my eating disorder. Blech. It’s giving me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. But there are those that love ’em, and that’s perfectly fine. Different strokes for different folks.
Chia seeds are another blogland favorite that I have mixed feelings about.
I got all excited after hearing so many people rave about them, bought a baggie of my very own, and I’ve been trying to use it up for over a year now. I can’t stand them on their own (they get stuck in my teeth), don’t enjoy them in oats, prefer my pudding like this….
… and although I’ve been able to tolerate them in smoothies, I think they’re giving me some stomach problems. One more strike and you’re out in the garbage, chias.
And speaking of stomach problems, stevia is another trend that I’m kind of iffy about. You know that whole saying about how when something seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is? Yeaaaaahhh. That’s exactly what I think of when it comes to stevia. And yes, I know it’s been used for thousands of years with supposedly no side effects, but I also know that whenever I use it, my stomach is not happy with me, so I’ll be stickin’ to my real sugars, thank you very much.
That being said, there are a lot of great trends out there that I do love. The blog world has introduced me to so many of my favorite foods, that I honestly have no idea what I’d be eating these days if I wasn’t getting my inspiration from blogs. Definitely not…
Greek yogurt…
. – . – . – .
Greek yogurt messes…
. – . – . – .
Eggy oats…
. – . – . – .
Almond butter…
. – . – . – .
… on everything…
. – . – . – .
Kombucha…
. – . – . – .
Hummus…
. – . – . – .
Beans…
. – . – . – .
Pumpkin…
. – . – . – .
Sweet potato fries…
. – . – . – .
Cookie dough balls…
. – . – . – .
Nutritional yeast…
. – . – . – .
Baked oatmeal…
..
Dates…
. – . – . – .
… just to name a few. And I’d probably be nowhere near as creative with my meal choices…
. – . – . – .
And while the food is good, the people are better, and the knowledge of what it means to truly treat my body right been priceless. So thank you blog world. Not for OIAJ, green monsters, and chia seeds, but for all that other stuff 😀
. – . – . – .
What are some blog trends that you were never able to get into?
How about some that you love?
That’s the one thing I don’t like about OIAJ. Instead of eating it the entire time, I have to wait for the treasure trove to when my oats are almost gone. I guess the reason I still use them is because I hate wasting the little bit at the bottom of my jar! Haha, and I totally get you on the small opening — it is just too much work. 🙂 I’m sorry that the chia gives you a stomach ache — if it is giving you those kind of problems, I wouldn’t eat them either. I like how the chia are like super-hero soakers — that’s probably the thing I like most. Green Smoothies are another one of my favorites, but I get you with the flavor — I want to eat as many greens with my smoothies as I can, but I also want it to look pretty and taste good and not just be some drink that I chug down. Stevia doesn’t seem to bother me, but I get you with the whole “natural, no side effects” stuff. That’s why moderation in all things is what I have been striving for.
I’m not into OIAJ either, I like my big warm bowls 🙂
But I am ever so greatful for being introduced to kombacha, can’t go a single day without it!
O, I can see myself like OIAJ, taste wise. But I need my food to be pretty, and OIAJ is… just not 😉
Yes, Ive learned so much from the blog-world. I never knew nutbutters was for EvErYtHiNg! And that AB on sweet potato is SOO good! Or that girls eats! Or that breakfast is totally allowed for dinner! And so much more that I cant remember at 5 am 😛
Im so grateful for everything I learn every single day!
I love this post!
I actually just finished my post before heading over here to read yours and I talked about stevia too 🙂 I can’t really stand that stuff. It just tastes weird.
Something else I’ve never been into is overnight oats. It always looks good when people make it, but I’ve had it twice and i’ve never really enjoyed it.
I think nut butters and sweet potato fries are some of my favorites from the blog world! 🙂
Overnight oats always sound like a good idea when I’m putting them together the night before, but I never ever enjoy them as much as stovetop oatmeal in the morning… so I guess I’m lucky that I wake up at the crack of dawn and don’t mind spending so much time making breakfast 🙂
I didn’t like OIAJ because there are bites when I wanted my PB and couldn’t get to it. Then TRYING to get to it just mixed it in… however, I found out I can still top my oatmeal with a little more pb or another topping then when I get to the bottom… SURPRISE more pb just for me to eat up with my oats 🙂
I’ve come a long way since I discovered blogging, too. I’m thankful for finding your blog because you were the person who instructed me on how to incorporate egg whites into my oatmeal. I needed protein in my life and my parents were threatening to not let me eat oatmeal anymore but with this… It tastes 10 xs better and is 10 xs creamier. Now, I wouldn’t eat them any other way!
I read your story a while ago and each paragraph was me. Currently I have a list of things I would love to try and love to eat… But do I ever make them? No. Do I ever eat anything I ever bake? Rarely. You were the one person who I matched through every detail. Things I thought I was alone with… I realized I wasn’t. So I hope I change as much as you did without seeing someone because well, I’m very independent and do not believe it would be the best choice for me.
Yeh.. OIAJ are hyped up alot. The tiny opening to get out the oats, and the mixed toppings, I agree, when i tried it they were not my thang.
I love chia in my oats, I just love how thick they make the ‘batter’. But I don’t enjoy them any other way.
You gotta stop teasing me with all these food photos, i mean really, I’m sitting here in class without a fridge in reaching distance. *cries*
When I look back into BB time.. (Before Blog) my gosh were my meals BORRRRING!!
I would still be chompin’ on my steamed veggies with salt and pepper (not spices in site, cumin? what was cumin?)
I’ve discovered so much awesome food I would have never had any idea about.
I would have been living without sunbutter, almond butter, persimmons and I would still be making my oats in the microwave. bleh. ( i dont even want to think about it )
My oats were kinda scary before I started blogging, too. Pretty much just oatmeal, milk, and brown sugar. Tasty, but boring.
Oh btw, left my sweet tater in the oven longer today to get them more mushy, SO WORTH THE WAIT! Bliss
I can’t do nutritional yeast. It tastes atrocious to me. But more power to people who dig it!
I have the same feelings on OIAJ and Chia Seeds and Green Monsters!!!
Stevia actually bothers my stomach a lot less than stuff like Splenda…but I think everyone’s tummy likes different things, just like everyone’s taste-buds!
I think my favorite blog discovery is cacao nibs. love ’em with cherries, avocado, and kefir!
Oh and Kombucha. it’s quickly becoming an addiction!
I eat oats in a jar just because I hate the thought of not finishing a jar 😛 I’m like you though I don’t like my oat toppings mixed in, love them on top! Cereal and milk with banana’s tastes a lot better in a jar though, IMO.
Store bought Stevia messes with my stomach too, but i have my own stevia plant at home and I’ve found that when I dry it and make it into a powder myself, my tummy is happy! Although 9 times out of 10 though I will be using honey/maple syrup.
My favorite blog discovery is almond butter. I never knew any other nut butter existed besides Skippy peanut butter before I started blog reading and now I am a total almond butter convert 😉
I absolutely LOVE almond butter!! You probably have mentioned it before, but what brand(s) of almond butter/other nut butters do you usually get?
I use a brand called Maisie Jane’s http://www.maisiejanes.com/ because it’s one of the only ones I can find that doesn’t contain traces of peanuts.
Don’t even get me started… I’m sick of a LOT of blog trends lately (I’ll discuss via email with you if you’d like, haha). But your blog and YOU are fabulous.
I cannot get into the Green Monster or banana soft serve that much…I prefer to eat my greens and bananas. Great post and pics, they always make me drool haha 🙂 I love OIAJ, but I can understand why you like them in a bowl. Yours oats always look yummy!
Egg whites. Even before I went vegan they reminded me to much of my ED days. ughh. Rubbery protein gluck.
I think I pretty much love everything else, except the non vegan and glutenous stuff.
hmmm one thing that i just am not totally in love with is almond butter. i mean it’s great, really tasty and all, but i would so much rather eat PB.
There are some of us (aka: me ;)) that can’t do PB, so we work with what we’ve got 😀
I don’t do OIAJ. I do Greek yogurt in a jar though. It’s betta.
I JUST cleared out an old chocolate peanut butter jar today and already informed my entire family NOT to throw it out because it was my contained for breakfast in the morning.
With that said– I actually DO understand you not wanting to try OIAJ because I felt the same way for a while lol 🙂 . It is an odd thought to go from a huge bowl of oats to a tiny little plastic or (hopefully) glass container, but is a decision that I still manage to make over and over again.
I still vote that you give it a shot one day 🙂
eh- maybe scrape the last bits of your oatmeal into the jar? No nut butter left behind! This from the girl who eats not oatmeal. One blog trend I can’t be down with.
Because I cannot get into oatmeal the way the die-hards do. Yes, I have a jug of steel ut in my pantry for (lord knows how long) and that would be because of you. And I love you for it. And it is delicious….just leaves me sluggish. I eat it maybe like dessert.
However nutreast (<—i call it a new name) changed my life and I will forever be indebted to bloggerville for that.
Stevia is not even legal where I live(the UK), there must be a reason for this!
Socca was quite a trend in the blog world. I bought chickpea(garbanzo) flour to make it-iv tried it both in sweet & savoury ways, but I DO NOT like it at all. Think ill stick to eating my chickpeas in the form of one of the most delicious addictive substances in the world, AKA hummus.
I do love quite a few trendy blog foods though. All the delicious cookie dough balls( especially yours!) Are probably my favourite. Your ‘bowl of heaven’ recipe is definitely trend worthy-iv eaten it everyday since you posted the recipe- LURVE it!
You need to become a profesh photographer for like a foodie magazine(Clean Eating!) Or something. Your pictures are like out of this world crazy good!
Xxx
I have a baggie of chickpea flour that I haven’t even opened yet lol. Socca is another one of those things that I always meant to make but never got around to…
I am not an oiaj fan either. I am pretty solid at leaving not on
E trace of nut butter in my jar . So putting oats in there would seem pointless to me. I do love my overnight oats though! And I am totally going to have to try a sweet potato with almond butter! How could I have not mixed to lovely foods like that before?!
dont tell my boss i can’t spell either….haha
Your secret’s safe with me 🙂
i almost peed my pants reading this post…….I AM THE SAME FLIPPIN WAY with my oatmeal! Everyday without fail, the toppings must be oh so delicately laid atop of my goopy banana oats. no no, the peanut butter cannot be in anyway mixed in..ew. i need a nice trail of pb. But when its yogurt mess time…ha im allabout the mix….funny how when i thought i was (how do i say this nicely?) um special, i found that im not so alone! I loveeee reading your blog and constantly look out for your new post everyday at work! haha dont tel my bodd 😉
Ps I hate my iPad, so many typos!
Hi love!!
So many trends I know! I do like the fact that I have discovered so many new things Fromm reading blogs! I don’t know what I would od without mybpeanut flour that I discovered on the blogs, but I understand where 6 our coming from! Talk about food porn on this post!! Love ya girl!!! Xoxo
to be honest, I’m not too fond of most blogging food trends. But I’m an OIAJ girl through and through!
I’ve never done OIAJ either! I felt so left out, it’s good to know someone else out there still makes theirs in the morning. Very pretty pics
What a gret idea for a post! I too am not a fan of OIAJ- i much prefer my oatmeal with lots of toppings! My favorite smoothies are fruit based and not with veggies too!
Things i do love from the blog world- sweet potato fries, your mexican bean scramble and your delicious pizza, greek yogurt messes and hummus on just about anything!
I love OIAJ! Once I got into it, I save all my jars lol Chia seeds and overnight oats are another blog trend that I love. I never got into green smoothies though, I prefer to eat my spinach not drink it lol Tofu doesn’t really appeal to me either =/
omg stevIa makes my stomach freak out too! and i’m kind of iffy about chia seeds too. they don’t upset my stomach but they’re just bland. i like to taste my food, thank you very much. 🙂
I haven’t tried OIAJ yet either. I did try a green monster and I thought it tasted really bitter…that’s no good. But I do love greek yogurt. I think the biggest “trend” (if it even is one) that I’ve taken away from blogland is healthifying unhealthy foods- making more nutritious baked goods, treats, snacks, and meals! 🙂
Even when I ate oatmeal – I was NOT on board with OIAJ. I felt the exact same feelings towards it as you! I do, however, enjoy having “cereal in a jar” at the end of a jar :]
but, i confess…i love chias!
Don’t worry… I won’t hold it against you 😉
haha cute post! I am sort of impartial to chia seeds and the OIAJ doesn’t appeal to me either. But I do LOVE green monster smoothies 🙂 Love, love, love! But you are right indeed, diff stroke for diff folks. Being reminded of ED days is a no-no for anything so I think you are on the right track girlie.
I really love reading your blog posts. So personal, opening and great discussion topics. Love it! love YOU! 😉
Why are your pictures always so flawless?! You have me drooling every post and I just ate dinner.
Nut butters in oatmeal is the best way (food-wise) the blog world has changed my life. Why I never thought of putting half a jar of peanut butter in oats, I don’t know. People ask me everyday where I got that idea, all thanks to the blog world.
Same on the green monsters though, I gag every time I even think about it. I WISH so bad I could like them, because a little extra spinach does no harm, but I can’t force it down so I won’t.
I got into the green smoothies for a few weeks and loved them..but soon fell out of it. And I bought some chia seeds, too but hardly ever used them..so I’d say I’m right along with you on the trends you don’t like. (Never had OIAJ either!) My favorites: PB on everything and pumpkin all. the. time in the fall!
Fall is coming soooon and I’m so excited 😀 😀
Green monsters are a big no for me, I cannot stand veggies in smoothie form. I also tried to get into chia seeds, but I just can’t see the point. I’d rather get my cals from something like….hmm…peanut butter haha! 😀
On the other hand, peanut flour, greek yogurt messes, and pumpkin are a heck YES in this mama’s house! 😛
I’m with ya on the green monster thing..I’d rather eat my spinach! It makes me sad to see so much spinach be all blended up, all the salads I could’ve made! Also chia seeds…whenever people start talkin’ “chia gel” I get a little nauseous.
I wouldn’t have ever tried greek yogurt, hummus, almond milk, and so so many recipes without the blogging world! Plus I just love looking at what other people eat as weird as that is, haha. Obsessed much?! Yupppp
I LOVE THIS! I completely agree with the OIAJ, Stevia, and chia seeds. Oiaj just seems weird to me and when I have a nut butter jar there is never enough left in there for anything! I scrape my jars clean. And stevia just seems so artificial to me….I know its supposedly natural but anything that comes with a little eye dropper, tastes like death on its own, and has a horrible alcohol smell is not coming anywhere near my insides. And don’t get me started on Chia seeds!! They are a total trend! I don’t think anyone can say that actually enjoy them….they literally taste like nothing! I like my food to give me some enjoyment if I’m gonna eat it…I don’t like eating certain foods just because they’re “healthy”.
But I do have to say I am a big fan of green monsters! The more greens the better in my book!
Great post girl! Bookmarking it NOW!
Haha I’m so glad there is someone else out there who doesn’t do green monsters, chia seeds, or stevia. In fact, I sometimes feel like I’m the only blogger out there who doesn’t use any of those non-sugar or honey sweeteners. Plus, I get enough greens in my diet as is so no need to blend it into a smoothie. No thanks.
Other blog trends I never got into: Oatmeal…of any sort, I just don’t like the texture, I tried it with mix-ins, tried to like it, but couldn’t, i think it also has to do with an oatmeal food poisoning experience I had in India that further detached me from it. Also protein shakes/powders…they sound so complicated and when i tried them a few years back I had stomach troubles…plus i definitely eat lots of protein!
The trends I have embraced though: Cheetahs/sweet potatoes (I remember learning about that on Snackface), kefir, kale chips, and of course PUFFINS and all the kashi cereals! I would say greek yoghurt too but I was eating it before I even started reading blogs
Food poisoning from oats? Ouch 😕 And I was pretty skeptical about protein powders too, but I actually find them pretty useful. They’re quick, easy, and tasty 😀
I totally agree with you that toppings belong on top of oatmeal, not stirred in! I have the blog world to thank for my delicious buckwheat cereal and nooch (not together) – both are currently daily staples in my diet, I can’t even remember life before them 😉
I love overnight oats, but not in a jar. I don’t like the little opening either, I prefer it all spread out so toppings can be on top. I like the goopiness chias bring, but I don’t like them by themselves. And green monsters? I love them! I’m not a huge fan on sweet/savory combos although I’ve only tried a few! 🙂
You’re missing out on OIAJ. Seriously, I never thought I would like them either, but I always save the PB for last anyways!