Don’t trust anything on the internet — until Mashable tries it first. Welcome to the Hype Test, where we review viral trends and tell you what’s really worth millions of likes.
For me, quarantining over the past year presented a unique opportunity to devote myself to new hobbies. So I played a lot of video games and routinely patronized my local Wendy’s for some spicy chicken nuggets.
After months of couch-potato-ing and spicy nug consumption, though, I began to derive less and less joy from my newfound habits. Also, I might have gained some weight. I was sad as hell because the world had gone to shit, and there was a void in my life that could only be filled by chicken bits encrusted in delicious spicy seasonings. I have no regrets about it at all — it’s what my body needed to be happy at the time, and I was going to listen to it. (Seriously, there’s no need to shame anyone for putting on a few pounds during a pandemic.)
While I wish I could’ve stayed on the nuggie train, my indulgence started to become unsustainable for me. It started to affect me in ways that would probably only get worse if left unchecked — namely, I got super depressed. Maybe it was my inactivity, or the fact that I was eating and doing the same stuff all the time, effectively turning my life into the worst version of Groundhog Day. Maybe it was because I already suffer from anxiety and depression in general, and the world basically stopping exacerbated it. All I know is that I felt like garbage, and I needed a little variety in my day-to-day to survive quarantine beyond my daily antidepressant.
It was time to make a change, so I consulted my favorite companion for latching onto new trends to see if they’ll stick: TikTok. As I scrolled aimlessly through my For You Page, the app’s enigmatic algorithm spat out all kinds of interesting things for me to chew on — candles that look like Shrek’s ass, Gen Z-ers telling me that skinny jeans aren’t in anymore, and food. Lots of food.
FoodTok ranges from viral recipes, great-looking dishes, potentially triggering and dangerous dieting content, and complicated body positivity videos. But amongst the faux guidance — some of which can get downright condescending and shame-y — I kept crossing paths with one potentially healthier food trend that I couldn’t seem to shake from my curated feed of stuff I wanted to eat: baked oatmeal. About every few swipes, I was hitting a new version of it, all from different TikTok users. Some TikTokers have even dedicated their entire pages to the breakfast-based fare. My interest was quickly piqued.
A strange creation
What do you think of when you hear the word “oatmeal?” Wet barf? Yea, me too. But this oatmeal wasn’t anywhere near that — it looked more like, well, cake. I watched each TikTok in awe as the creator’s spoon came swooping down into their baked oatmeal’s fluffy center, adorned with all sorts of goodies that made them look even more irresistible. Was this it? The diamond in the rough? The new Dalgona coffee? I had to try it for myself. Long story short: Baked oatmeal definitely lives up to the hype.
I know that I’m probably embarrassing myself right now, acting like baked oatmeal is some strange new culinary creation that’s just now making waves, but please indulge me as I gush about how discovering this simple meal for myself has impacted my life in a big way (and my view of oatmeal in general).
The process
One of the biggest draws of baked oatmeal, other than the act of eating it, is that it’s extremely simple to make.
Most baked oats recipes start with the same base ingredients: oats (duh), half of a banana, an egg, a little bit of baking powder, a pinch of salt, milk (or milk substitute), and some sort of sweetener (I normally use a bit of maple syrup). Then, you blend it all up and pour it into an oven-safe bowl. From that base, you can build — add in some chocolate chips, fruit, something crunchy, or whatever else you want. The possibilities are endless. You can even add to your initial blended mixture — I really like to throw in a scoop of peanut butter and some vanilla extract, but you can get creative with it. As long as it blends, all bets are off.
After you’re done with the setup, pop it into your oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Once it cools, your baked oats are ready to eat after you take a photo and post it to TikTok or Instagram for all of your friends to see. Bask in their glory.
Making baked oatmeal definitely takes a bit longer than mixing some boiling water and your Quaker Oats packet of choice, but the end product is absolutely worth the extra time. If you’re anything like me, it can become kind of a fun daily ritual akin to making a good cup of coffee.
Now, the process of making baked oatmeal has become a staple in my morning routine. Popping on some tunes, assembling my ingredients, and watching the mixture rise in the oven is an almost meditative experience for me at this point.
As good as they look
You’re probably wondering how they taste. It depends on which recipe you go for, but for me, almost every one I tried came out tasting great (not to brag or anything). My go-to baked oatmeal recipe is this chocolate peanut butter concoction — it makes me feel like I’m eating cake for breakfast, but like, healthy cake. I have it at least three days out of any given week.
Behold:
Image: Dylan Haas / mashable
Image: Dylan haas / mashable
Your mileage may vary, though. We all have different taste buds. You may like to get crazy with your baked oats and add in things that others haven’t thought of yet, whereas I lean towards the “less is more” mentality when it comes to mine. Generally, I found that the baked oats dishes I least enjoyed were the ones that overloaded on complicated toppings, like these black forest cake oats that I found to be a little more style over substance (of course, I could just be bad at baking things).
As with any viral food trend, some recipes are made to just look good and make for engaging content, taste aside. It’ll take some experimenting before you figure out which ones are the real deal, and which ones are solely a feast for the eyes rather than the stomach.
More than a meal
Baked oatmeal is a trend that’s going to last for more than just a moment, at least in my life. I could sing praises all day long about how delicious and fulfilling they are, and how they converted me from an oatmeal hater to an appreciator. But, it goes a bit deeper than surface-level within the context of my quarantine experience.
I got into baked oats because I wanted to start off 2021 in a healthier place, both mentally and physically. My anxiety and depression was at an all-time high with so much happening in the world at once, and comfort food was one of the only things that gave me some respite. I wasn’t alone in that, I know — many of us were desperately searching for something to make sense of where we were at a year ago, no matter what it ended up being.
Now that baked oatmeal is a fixture in my diet, I’ve found a comfort food that nurtures me just a little bit more than before, and I feel like my overall state of being has taken a turn for the better because of it. I have more energy throughout the day where I used to be lethargic, and I’ve shed most of the lockdown weight I put on (which, I must reiterate, there’s no pressure to do anything like that if you don’t want to).
Health and wellness content on TikTok (or any other social media site, for that matter) is hit or miss. While there are plenty of creators on the app that are actually qualified to speak on the topic with genuine expertise, you’ll also find the opposite — people who seem to want to sell you “a vibe” instead of actual advice. It all culminates in a kind of Wild West of “life hacks,” mental health tips, and unvetted platitudes that you’d be better off staying skeptical of.
Baked oatmeal obviously did not cure my mental illnesses — no alteration in my diet is ever going to do that — but this small edit has splintered off into even more sustainable, positive changes in my life. I make healthier choices for my brain, as well as my body. I take things slower. I’m kinder to myself. It’s gotten me to a more optimistic place than I was before, and that’s pretty cool. Who’d have thought that a bowl of oatmeal could inspire something like that?
I still make time for spicy nuggets (albeit less frequently), though. I won’t be totally quitting those anytime soon.