EASY OATMEAL UPGRADES - 7 flavors that aren't boring!

You are not going to see fried eggs and pickled onion on top of oatmeal in this video. This is all about the classics and the classics are the classics for a reason. Chocolate, strawberry, banana. These might sound a little bit basic but don't let that put you off. I'm going to show you my favorite ways to make them a little bit more interesting. Like how to make healthier caramel, an oatmeal that changes color, and a few new delicious twists on the timeless classics. So we're going to be counting down the seven best classic oatmeal flavors and if you just want to skip to the flavors you can start here. But just in case you're new to oatmeal, I want to quickly show you how I like to make the perfect pot. And now, how to make the perfect pot. The new method with Liesl Jane. The first step to quick, creamy, filling oatmeal is selecting the right oat. But how does one know which to choose? When Liesl Jane is in a rush in the morning, as she usually is, she knows she doesn't have 13 minutes to make steel cut. But she also knows that if she makes instant she'll be hungry long before lunch. The solution? It's rolled oats. The perfect balance of cooking time, nutritional value, and that fluffy texture we've all come to love and crave. But even rolled oats can take about 15 minutes. Fortunately, she has an extra trick up her sleeve. By harnessing the power of the modern electric kettle, she can speed up the cooking time by half. Let's watch how she does it. Extraordinary! When spoiled, she relies on the time-tested ratio of one part oats to three parts water. Adding it to the pot, she covers it with a lid and leaves it to soak. Just five minutes should do and she doesn't waste a moment of it. Busying herself with everyday household chores and the comforting knowledge that the soaking process is doing its magic. Once soaked, let's get it simmering. Now watch those oats like a hawk. With the lid on, you may need to stir it from time to time. It's really quite simple, just don't get distra- Oh dear. With a little luck, after just three to five minutes, your perfect pot will be ready. Great job, Lidl. Of course, if you're truly in a rush, you can always make use of a modern microwave appliance. Just two minutes on high should do. However, nothing quite compares to a stovetop simmer. And now, let us discover all the secret ingredients that will turn your perfect pot into the perfect bowl. So now that you know how to make the perfect pot of oats, let's start the countdown to the seven best classic oatmeal flavors of all time, starting with number seven. Brown sugar maple. Maybe the most classic of all the oatmeal flavors. Most people just add sugar, but I'm going to show you how I like to make this one a little bit more balanced. I always start my the exact same way. Half a cup of rolled oats, one and a half cups of hot water, soak for five minutes and get a cooking. By the way, all these recipes start exactly like this, so I won't keep showing this part, but this is where it gets exciting because we're going to be adding some of those secret ingredients. Half a teaspoon of coconut oil. This adds some healthy fats, so you're not going to be hungry as quickly. One tablespoon of almond butter, great source of protein, and it also makes it a bit creamier and sweeter. Half a teaspoon of vanilla. Vanilla just seems to bring out a lot of flavor, which also means that you're not going to feel the need to add as much sugar. So get it nice and mixed up, and you can already see there's a lot more flavor in here than just plain oatmeal. So serve it into a bowl, and now for the sugary part. You can add however much you like. I usually start with about one teaspoon of maple syrup and one teaspoon of brown sugar. I like mine drizzled and sprinkled on top. You can mix it in if you prefer. Either way, if this is in last place, just imagine how good the next ones are going to be. No one's got anything bad to say about the blueberry. It's the king of the superfoods, blueberry oatmeal. It's a modern day classic, but something magic seems to happen when you add this. I'm just going to use this little stove top so you can see better. Okay, got my pre-soaked oats, getting a cooking, and adding in half a cup of blueberries. You can use fresh or frozen. Mine got stuck. This one cooks in about five minutes. It's very quick. And just before serving, I like to mix in half a teaspoon of coconut oil, one teaspoon of sweetener, and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It's not really going to look any different, but these add creaminess, sweetness, and a little bit of spice. Now look what happens when I add one of these. It adds the magic. I don't know if this is common knowledge, but I was really surprised the first time I tried this. Look at how this changes color. Look how luminous it's gotten. Okay, so now you've got your bowl of magic oatmeal. Here's some topping ideas. About a quarter cup of plain yogurt. I use coconut, some fresh blueberries, a few lemon slices, and you know, if you're going to do the lemon, you might as well just grate some zest on top. It's the perfect final touch in my opinion. And that is magic blueberry oatmeal. Oh, that lemon. I don't know why, but lemon just goes so well. Oh, lemon just goes so well with blueberries and the yogurt just adds the creaminess like blueberries and cream. So this was my favorite flavor as a kid, but I'm going to show you a healthier way to make caramel using these. So I'm starting with three medjool dates. They have this really great caramel-like flavor, but they're much healthier for breakfast. Soaking them in a quarter cup of hot water for about five minutes, they get all soft and squishy. Then I slice them up, smash them with a fork as well. You can make this as smooth as you want, but I actually like to keep some of the little date pieces in it. Add that to a bowl with a tablespoon of almond butter, a teaspoon of maple syrup or sweetener, half a teaspoon of vanilla, and a little pinch of salt. And then I actually like to take the water that I soaked the dates in and add about two tablespoons to a bowl, mix it up, get it a bit saucy. And that's a healthier caramel. Now I've got some cooked oats here, just adding in half a teaspoon of coconut oil for some creaminess, serving it out and getting that healthier caramel on top. What's really great about this is that there's protein in it. There's healthy fats and fiber. It's not just sugar. You can swirl it around a bit on top. And if you want just to finish it off with a few date pieces. Let's try this. Okay. Let's let's try this. Still one of my favorites. Okay. I love this one because it's simple without being too plain. It's the everyday classic. Chopping up this juicy green apple. You can peel it if you don't like the skin on and cooking it into the oats for about 10 minutes. And you'll know it's cooked when it turns this golden brown color. Then adding in half a teaspoon of coconut oil, two teaspoons of sweetener, half a teaspoon of cinnamon. And I found that this is the little ingredient that really brings out all the flavor in the apple and the cinnamon. So adding half a teaspoon of vanilla and serving it out. And if you like a fresh crunch, you can also put some fresh apple on top. I love adding some extra cinnamon. That's a bite. Those little juicy pieces of cooked apple. You can eat this every single day. And that's why I feel like it deserved the fourth spot. We are down to the final three now. Do you know anyone that doesn't like chocolate? Me either. It's chocolate. What else must I say? This one is surprisingly simple to make. We've got our cooked oats, adding in half a teaspoon of coconut oil, two teaspoons of cocoa powder, two teaspoons of sweetener, and a little pinch of salt. That's it. Mix it. Serve it out. And just look at that chocolatiness coming into the bowl. I'm adding a few extra toppings, some vanilla coconut yogurt, some dark chocolate pieces, and we're going all out. Some dark chocolate shavings grated in slow motion. And that's double chocolate oatmeal. Or should I say triple chocolate oatmeal? It's the perfect excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast. Chocolate. It's a little bit cheeky as a breakfast food, but it's so delicious. It has to be top three. This is my fridge magnet. He's a monkey, so this next one should be obvious. This is not just going to be sliced banana on top of oatmeal. We've got our banana, peeling it, smashing it up, adding it to our soaked oats, and cooking it for about five minutes. It smells like fried banana. It smells so good. Then right at the end, I like to add some coconut oil and sweetener. Just half a teaspoon of each. Stir them in. Serve it out. And I like to keep some fried banana pieces in it, so try not to over stir it. Then here's some topping ideas. More banana slices, some almond milk, or any milk. I bought this milk jug because I thought it was so cute. It's absolutely useless though. It spills everywhere. And then banana and walnuts just go so well together. I had to add some. Adds a little bit of a crunch on top. Smells incredible. Every single time I make this, I'm like, how do I not eat this every single morning for breakfast? It's so simple. Cooking in the banana is so worth the extra little bit of effort. Let's see what's number one. So in first place, we have strawberries and cream. You've probably had this flavor a million times, but I'm going to show you how I like to make it healthier so I can have it for breakfast every single day. I'm adding a cup of strawberries to a saucepan. You can use fresh or frozen. Both work. With two teaspoons of maple syrup and about a tablespoon of water. You can use a fork to break it up a bit, get it more saucy, but I actually like to keep some strawberry pieces in it. Then got a plain pot of cooked oats. Stirring in a teaspoon of maple syrup and half a teaspoon of vanilla. Adding that steamy oats to a bowl and serving the cooked strawberries on top. Looks delicious. Then for the cream, you can either use a quarter cup of plain yogurt or a quarter cup of light coconut milk from a can, which is what I'm using. And I like to swirl the strawberries into it. And that's strawberries and cream oatmeal. Okay, before I eat this, I'll show you this juicy shot here. Juicy shot. Okay. Oh my gosh. I put this number one for a reason. My favorite thing to eat with oatmeal has always been berries. And strawberry is the most classic berry. Put cream with it and you've got one of the most iconic pairings. I had to put this as number one. Just take me to a dreamy place. Oh, it's good, it's good, it's good, it's good. So that is the best classic oatmeal ranking. Official. It's the official. So that is the official best classic oatmeal ranking of all time. Ranked by me. But if you completely disagree with my ranking, you can let me know what you think is the best below. And if you enjoyed this, I've also recently done an entire video on overnight oats. I'll link that below for you. And yeah, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the video. I've got seven bowls of oatmeal to eat, so I better get going.