Testing Out My Version: Nutella and Cinnamon Oatmeal with Almonds

I can't take credit for coming up with my version of this oatmeal. I was inspired by the pickyeaterblog.com 's "Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal".

Here is the link to her recipe: http://pickyeaterblog.com/chocolate-brownie-oatmeal/

So basically this isn't testing out the original recipe. This is me testing out my own version based upon what ingredients I have in the apartment. But I thought to share with you anyway how it turned out. I didn't have cocoa powder or walnuts or flax seeds and I forgot to put honey or Stevia to make this more sweet. I will do that next time.

I recently bought oatmeal to try to eat healthier breakfasts, but one knows that oatmeal can get boring, or is boring from the get-go, especially if eaten completely plain.

I'm not fond of putting bananas into my oatmeal like others so that's why I had my attention caught with the pickyeaterblog.com's recipe. Because, well, I love chocolate.

Here's the cost and breakdown of what I used:

• 1/2 cup dry rolled instant oats ($2 for the entire can but used 15 cents for the portion)
• 1/2 cup almond milk sweetened version ($3 for the carton but used 19 cents for the portion)
• NOTE: I don't like my oatmeal runny with milk. I prefer it drier while still moist. Feel free to use more milk if you like yours more soupy.
• 1/2 TBSP Nutella ($3.48 for the jar but used 4 cents for the portion)
• Sprinkle of slivered almonds ($2 for a small pack, used 25 cents for the portion)
• 3 quick bottle shakes of ground Cinnamon ($2.25 for the bottle but used 2 cents max)

GRAND TOTAL: 65 cents!

CALORIE INTAKE:

• Oatmeal: 150 calories
• Almond Milk: 30 calories
• Nutella: 50 calories
• Almonds: 20 calories
• Cinnamon: 5 calories

TOTAL CALORIES: 255 calories

Here's what it looked like after I put it together this morning:

WHAT I THINK OF THE TURN OUT:

I really wanted to put a full 1 TBSP of Nutella to make the chocolately flavor stronger, but I wanted to save calories. So this portion turned out a good hint of chocolate, but isn't strong enough to taste like you're eating Nutella on a slice of bread. I was slightly disappointed because I was hoping even the small amount of Nutella would flavor the entire oatmeal enough, but I should've known better. 1/2 TBSP of Nutella really isn't much, so next time I might just use the full 1 TBSP and eat up the additional 50 calories, making the portion 305 calories, which isn't terrible, but still not preferable.

Still though, the hint of chocolate was enough so that I could eat the entire bowl of oatmeal without feeling like I'm eating cardboard. And the crunchy texture of the slivered almonds helped. Couldn't taste the cinnamon that much but it was enough to get the smell of it, which was pleasant.

Would I make this again? Sure! This beats eating my oatmeal plain even though it isn't optimal. But it was my fault for not putting in some honey or 0 calorie Stevia to make it sweeter. I might try that next time to see how it turns out.

But hey, my picture doesn't look too shabby now does it? I think despite the taste turn out, the cost was ridiculously cheap and it physically looked good.

What oatmeal concoctions have you tried and liked? Please do share!

See y'all in my next post!