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?
I’m with you on chia seeds – I LOVE their properties, but I hate chia pudding, SO much. I just blend chias in a smoothie and I can’t tell :p
OIAJ? LOVE! I love it at the bottom when there’s a thick layer is PB..it’s wonderful 🙂
Nooch – love love love! Green monsters, likewise! It’s only the colour that’s off, but I guess if they remind you of bad things, you have a valid reason to hate on them :p
I’m not sure if I could ever like kombucha though..straight up bacteria? Errh.
Great post, but I must say, I do need to thank the blog world for introducing me to green monsters, overnight oats (not in a jar – I also don’t want to use all my effort digging for some almond butter!) and chia seeds. I adore all of those, but like you said, different strokes for different folks 😛
I am so with you on practically every single one of your likes and dislikes!
OIAJ — umm I always thought it was just weird. Totally agree with you about opening size and seeing/tasting your toppings! Also, I do like nut butter a lot, but not so much that I go through jars quickly enough to really eat OIAJ.
Green monsters– you seriously took the words right out of my mouth! I eat plenty of veggies as it is, and I genuinely adore them, so I see no need to try to “sneak in” extra.
Chia– I’ve discovered I do like it in my oats because I like the texture and volume it adds, but as for chia pudding? Gloppy and basically tasteless.
Stevia– I actually haven’t tried it, but the idea of a calorie-free sweetener, even if it does come from a plant, kinds of freaks me out. I’d rather just use a small amount of honey or maple syrup, naturally sweeten with fruit, or just go without!
As for blog trends I love, there are TONS, but the vast majority were foods I already ate and loved haha! Namely: Greek yogurt, kefir, oatmeal, smoothies, frozen bananas, nut butters, sweet potatoes, hummus, cottage cheese, kombucha, lots of veggie proteins…!!! Its kind of funny, because I think a lot of people love the blog community for new food discoveries, while for me I just love that I’ve found other people who eat the same foods I’ve been eating and loving my whole life!
You have the most creative meals of all bloggers I’ve seen out there! I love it. 🙂 I’ve learned so much and gotten so many ideas for food from other bloggers too, but not everything is for me either!
I don’t like OIAJ either, the opening at the top of the jar is too small plus, it’s hard to even scoop your oats into the jar in the first place. But it IS fun to eat all the nut butter remainings from the jar, but I just do that with a spoon, I don’t need oats in the way!
I love green monsters, I ALWAYS make mine chocolatey, I can’t stand them any other way. I like chia seeds, only bought them once and haven’t bought them again, but they’re nice for overnight oats and throwing in smoothies.
I’ve never tried OIAJ either – I feel like it might not be “bad” per say but I’m not going to get all excited about them, you know?
I am not big on oatmeal… too much chewing involved :D. I adore stevia, however– to me, it’s not as much of a sweetener as a flavor that I just can’t get enough of! I haven’t plucked up the courage to put greens in my smoothies though, I had a kale incident once. Aats in a jar is obviously not too appealing because I’m not big on the oats, but I really love that cakey nut butter at the bottom– I think the texture is cool! I eat it plain 😀
Great post Amanda! Well you know I completely agree with you on the green monster smoothie…. ugh so gross! My stomach is taking a turn as I think about it haha
I will admit I enjoy OIAJ but when I first saw them, I was ridiculously grossed out by the idea!
I have actually gotten great ideas from YOUR blog 🙂 Eggified oats? Yes please
OIAJ are awesome though! 😀 I’m almost done with an almond butter jar. Can’t wait to add my oats there soon. Everyone’s different, so it’s cool :] I only like chia seeds in overnight oats. I don’t know if it’s just my blender, but they don’t work well in smoothies for me. Green monsters I do like, but only in a bowl so I can use a spoon when having them haha. My favorite blog trends are oatmeal (steel cut as of recently), soy yogurt messes, pudding, hummus, pumpkin, and crazy oats combinations. I’ve been having these on repeat for a while. It doesn’t look like I’ll get sick of them anytime soon.
I have the best idea ever!! Could you pretty pretty please do a tutorial post for making eggified oats? 🙂 I want to make them but I’m scared I won’t cook the eggs properly and I don’t want food poisoning.
There’s a tutorial up on my recipes page 🙂 http://runwithspoons.wordpress.com/for-spoons/steel-cut-oats-base-tutorial/
GAH! I want to eat this whole post!
I have a hard time getting into overnight oats. I wish I liked them more (I’ve only done them once so I’m going to try again!).
Ones I love? Oats, yogurt bowls, no bake cookie balls, sunflower butter, baked tofu…I could go on and on 🙂
You don’t like oats in a jar?! Blashemy! And do not even think about tossing those chias. I will gladly take them 🙂 I drank tons of GMs last year and I think I’ve had maybe 2 this year? For some reason, I’m just never really in the mood. Oatmeal, dates, hummus and overnight oats are my favorite blogger trends, but stevia weirds me out. What’s wrong with real sugar?
Lovin your pictures and meals!! I have picked up some amazing food ideas by reading blogs. I do love chia seeds, and avocado pudding although I make it chocolate by adding cocoa powder so that it’s not actually green. I use stevia here and there but it doesn’t give me any stomach problems… if it did I would surely avoid it too!!
I’ve had OIAJ, but I prefer oats in a bowl for the same reason you mentioned. And I am SO with you on Stevia, girl! I don’t like any fake sugars, and even though Stevia is natural, I can’t stand the taste. Zero calorie sweeteners freak me out. I’m a honey/agave/sugar girl all the way.
Dates with peanut butter is one of my favorite blog trends, but I’ve gotten so many fabulous ideas from blog trends that it’s hard to even remember what they are! I used to drink green monsters every day, but haven’t in a really long time. Even when I have a fresh box of spinach in my fridge, I just don’t have any desire to put it in my smoothies. We’re the same in a lot of ways!
Nut butter. Smoothies.
I like Sunbutter, Cashew butter and Almond&Hazelnut butter, but that’s about it. And only on toast, bagels. Sometimes banana but I prefer chocolate with it. Not in my oatmeal.
Same for green monsters and also the eating of smoothies in a bowl, I just don’t get that at all.
I agree about Stevia too, I don’t see the point in it. I’d rather add sugar, you know exactely what you are getting that way! All of this pasta replacement stuff – spiralised courgette is not the same and you can’t beat the real thing! Basically anything that amounts to a substitute for a higher calorie food gets on my wick. 😉
I love OIAJ though because of the melty gems of nut butter you get on your spoon. 😉 Greek yogurt, nut butter on bananas and pancakes are all things I’m grateful to the community for introducing me to!
Love your photography. Your oats just look so divine every day.
Ive never really loved OIAJ, because I always get the jumbo jars of peanut butter, and well I dont have a spoon long enough to get to the bottom!! I have to use a knife to scoop out the rest, so I just scoop it straight into my mouth 🙂
Ive never tried kombucha, so I guess that one too!
My solution to the OIAJ problem: put my toppings in a separate bowl and spoon them into the jar as I’m eating. That way I get the best of both worlds. 😉
Also I totally agree with you about stevia. Something about it just sketches me out!
Blog trends that I don’t love: kombucha, kefir, protein powder
Blog trends I love: vegan overnight oats, pumpkin, Greek yogurt + cereal, chia seeds, sunflower seed butter.
what in the world is baked oatmeal? never heard of it, but since i’m on the ultimate oatmeal kick i better find out soon! for me, the blog world has introduced me to OIAJ (good in a pinch for oat storage), pumpkin, eggy oats, egguffins, and smoothies 🙂
I never liked overnight oats. I like oats cooked, and the overnight stuff tastes too slimy to me….But I adore green smoothies, cookie dough balls, almond butter, kombucha, and all that other good stuff! I’m usually not that picky…
Ahh love this!! I was actually going to do a post on this haha! I think I may be one of the few bloggers who just doesn’t do oatmeal hardly ever. I’m just too much of a cereal girl! And eating things out of a jar? Ummm no, I don’t plan on doing that either – I like to be able to actually see and get to my food easily thanks, because when I’m hungry, I don’t want to mess around trying to dig around a tiny jar!!
Green monsters? I’ve tried them but gah, no matter how much stuff I put in them, they just do NOT fill me up. I need my food in solid form to fill me!
And chia seeds? Not tried them because they kinda freak me out..I mean, these little tiny seedy things to make things volumous? Mmmm nooo..
I also don’t like avocado (don’t hate me :P), nooch (again hehe!) and although I do like bananas..I don’t eat them very often lol!
But the blogging world has brought SO many great things into my life…probably the biggest being nut butters which essentially was the start of my recovery, squash (the love of my life!), pumpkin and a major essential in my diet now – protein powders, which I would NEVER have touched before because I just saw them as something for body builders! But I need them really because I wasn’t even getting 1/4 of the protein I needed before. Ohh and sweet potato fries and socca too 🙂 I honestly don’t think I’d be as healthy as I am today if I hadn’t discovered the ‘blogging world’.
I’m with you on the protein powders. I never in a million years would have considered trying them on my own because I figured they were definitely just for people who wanted to get big and beefy, but now I love ’em. ANd I owe a lot of my recovery to the blog world as well. It was hard to keep denying myself food when I was constantly looking at so many delicious meals that would make my mouth water.
YESI always thought protein powder was for hardcore body builders! But now I love the stuff too. And socca, yes!!
Me too!! I love it!! Which protein powder brand do you use?
Awesome post!! Love all the food pics. I like overnight oats. But in a pretty jar. Sans peanut butter, shock and horror!! But with natural acidophilus yoghurt and rooibos tea flavoured soy milk! Only just starting to discover all these foods though. 🙂
Haha this is FUNNY!! I actually am the opposite to you on most of these- please don’t disown me! 😛 Obvs for me Greek yoghurt and eggs I don’t do, and I LOVE oats in a jar!! Our shared love of pudding oats definitely makes up for it though hehe 😉
Hmmm…overnight oats. I don’t mind them, but warm from the stovetop is SO much better!! And GREENS food, like Amazing Grass. I like almost all foods, but that makes me want to puke haha! But blogging has brought me SO MANY good things!! My oatmeal was so BORING before…now there is PUDDING and NUT BUTTER!! 😀
Your photos are always so gorgeous. They make me smile and salivate 😉 I’ve never been able to get into OIAj either. I ran out of PB the other day and considered making them, but I reassessed my choices and opted out.
I think I have loved every blogger trend so far- OIAJ, green smoothies, socca, chia puddings. I’m still a little strange about overnight oats though. I really like them, but just can’t separate the fact my oats are sold when I always serve mine warm. But, the beauty of blogging is that everyone is different. I have learnt and been introduced to so many varieties and ideas about food. Love it!! 🙂
yes I am so with you on the green smoothies thing, the thought of eating something green really puts me off, and I have tried to do overnight oats as they are a handy quick brekkie but bleugh to cold oats!! i have similar tastes to you lol
Hehe I love this!
I most certainly won’t be getting into using stevia or making chia puddings and what not. The thought of the texture just makes my spine shiver. Also green smoothies. I’m all for smoothies, but they should only be green if you’ve set it on the counter for too long. Smoothies shouldn’t be green.
Ones I LOVE? Oats, of course. It was because of the blog world that I opened my eyes to oats. Oh, and carob and coconut oil. Mmmmmm 🙂
xxx
Loves = most of your dislikes, it seems! Chia pudding, green monsters, OIAJ, raw ‘pasta’ (carrot or courgette noodles), peanut flour…
Dislikes = spirulina (gah, it’s hideous! Nothing can mask the taste)
I think a lot of bloggie foods are geared towards getting the most bang for your buck in terms of calories vs. volume. It’s okay to dislike certain things as long as everyone’s willing to acknowledge that there’s a bit of a dichotomy in the blog world between those that can eat what they like and are still very lean, and those that have to keep an eye on their weight. The volumey foods such as chias, green monsters etc. are pretty much essentials for those such as myself that don’t have the fantastic definition and metabolism that you do ~ I think I’d rather share your attitude too, but unfortunately I’m not on the naturally thin side, so have to work harder to stay even in the ‘normal’ weight range.
xxx
Great post, you are so spot on, its horses for courses. One thing I love about blogging is that we are all so different, although we do have our little ‘trends’. I have to admit there’s not many that I haven’t loved – green smoothies, protein ice cream, socca, OIAJ etc they all just seem to taste really good to me so I go with it! Saying that, although I like oatmeal, I don’t love it in the same way many bloggers do, same with sweet potatoes, I like them but don’t go crazy on them. I have to say that I am unbelievably grateful for finding out about green smoothies and the likes from blogs, it may sound over the top but I really feel they have enriched my life so much!
Trends I don’t see myself getting into:
– green monsters (I eat a lot of vegetables and I don’t see the need to reduce my breakfast to a glass, full of vegetables … ew)
– artificial sweeteners, chia seeds and all other fancy ingrdients (hard to get there, too expensive)
– egg whites (I prefer whole eggs, thank you very much)
– oatmeal (*gasp*, I know … it’s just that here it’s not that much popular and I haven’t perfected the technique yet)
Things I’m extremely thankful I’ve discovered in the blogging community:
– grinding oats to oat flour
– protein pancakes (oats, cottage cheese)
– banana ”ice cream”!
– zucchini ”noodles”
– nut butters (!), especially homemade almond butter (but PB we buy)
– homemade tortillas
All in all, bloggers have introduced me to so many great things, but I don’t feel the need to jump on every trend I see.
I would have never tried greek yogurt messes, volumous oatmeal, or butternut squash fries!! I’m like you, I cant eat chia seeds, oiaj, or green monsters. I m trying to give chia seeds another go by putting them in oatmeal so we’ll see 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I’m from Belgium and finding chia seeds is so hard I became desperate. But know I will wait buying them. I actually don’t miss anything extra in my oatmeal so why adding something new?
About stevia: I use it once in a while but also experience some stomach issues after using it. And after all, I prefer the taste of honey, agave, maple and date syrup.
I never tried nutritial yeast but I’m looking forward. It’s so hard to find it here in the city.
I’m also glad I discovered lots of good new stuff thanks to bloggers: pumpkin, kombucha, wheat germ, frozen banana ‘ice’ cream, zucchini ‘noodles’, …
Lots of great ideas!
Oh, I’ll make those sweet potato fries tonight! Mmm!
I am not a green smoothie fan either…..give me a salad or a smoothie….not a combination of the two:)
Yeah, green monsters were never for me either. Smoothies in general are not my cup of tea, I like to chew things far too much 😛
What I’m loving recently is nutritional yeast. I just discovered it recently and now I put in on almost anything and everything. A little excessive?- Maybe. Delicious ?- definitely
honestly a lot of the “blog trends” my family already did, nut butter on oats, sunbutter, almond butter, coconut butter, etc, kale chips, sweet potato fries, hugh jass salads (although we didn’t call them that 😉 ), frozen bananas, and I grew up on qunioa and hummus all day everyday! Also, my mom had been eating chia seeds forever, they aren’t totally my thing, but the madre is in the pool all day and uses them as hydrating fuel I guess – idk it works for her, but not because of blogs haha. I always think it’s funny when bloggers think it is only a blog thing, but other people do the same stuff all the time, they just don’t always photograph it and post it on the internet 🙂 speaking of which, your photos are amazing girl!
So true! Lots of so-called blog “trends” are foods that my mom and/or I already ate! Even things that people are super in awe of, like, say, banana soft serve, I already ate. I just referred to it as a thick banana smoothie. Haha
I am so with you about Green Monsters! Even though I couldn’t taste the spinach, I still wasn’t a fan- great in theory but I’m a chewer….I would much rather eat my greens!
100% agree on the stevia! I only use honey or… nothing! I find cinnamon does a pretty good job of making things taste great (if you like cinnamon that is).
I have 4 cinnamon shakers in various areas of my house. I think I can safely say that I kind of have a food crush on cinnamon 😀
I have never got into OIAJ. I had no idea what they even were at first! I was like WTF is OIAJ! Even though I’m not into it, I respect what other people want to do. I gotta admit, I’m all about “green monsters,” just not ALL the time. I agree with you, I prefer to eat my greens in salad form. But extra greens can’t hurt! So sometimes I throw a couple handfuls in the blender. But, other times I prefer to leave it out. I am also pretty open to throwing chia seeds in my smoothies for the nutritional benefits but I’m really not in love with them. For whatever reason, stevia TOTALLY messed up my stomach too! I thought I was the only one. I think that stuff really is too good to be true. I love that blogging has opened up my eyes to so many things but I also try not to fall into too many of the trends. Thank you as always for your beautiful honesty and pure amazingness! <3 Love you girl.
Your meals look super tasty, so keep on eating them and forget about trends :)) I feel the same about those “trendy” meals/food as you – OIAJ sounds totally unappealing to me, as well as allt hose green smoothies (I love salads, but that´s it. If I want a drink, I don´t want it to be green and taste like cabbage), chia seeds and stevia may be good, but they don´t sell them here and I don´t find them that “attractive” to search for them abroad… It´s not important to follow trends, it is important to follow your taste and you body and mind´s needs and wishes. I take baked oatmeal over OIAJ every day 🙂
Uh. I don’t like nooch. Don’t hate me.
I just wrote about it on my last post. HAH! I just… ick. It tasted weird. And dry. I’ll give it another try, but I don’t know. I hope it’ll be better next time!
Green monsters- yeah. I’m with you. There’s something about thick green liquid that just…. hm. Yeah. But who knows? There’s always tomorrow.
Chia I’ve not tried.
Stevia I like- it’s simply so much easier to add to things since it’s not in granular form. I love my honey and maple syrup too, though. I don’t discriminate against sweets. LOVE me some sweets. NOM!
Oats in a jar I love! It’s so satisfying to scrape a jar clean. But I wouldn’t want to do it every day. I like getting to choose how much of each topping to get in each bite. But once in a while it’s nice to not do a dish, eh? Us food bloggers.. we use a lot of dishes. A lot.
I have three flavors of kombucha yet to be opened in my fridge. I’m scared. But excited.
EEEE!