I have to let you guys in on a little secret….even when I travel I stay on my game when it comes to food. Eating right at all times makes me feel great and there is no exceptions to that rule. I am a huge fan of breakfast and couldn’t imagine skipping my favorite meal of the day. I travel often and always pack these oatmeal packets, one baggie per day. Not only do I wake up before most hotels turn on their ovens (4am) but I don’t want to spend the money on room service eating mushy $20 oatmeal.
If you are traveling with your kids, then this is a convenient way to have breakfast at the ready. There is no need to spend gobs of money on room service or drag everyone out to find a restaurant. With jet lag and wacky sleep schedules you can rest assured that bellies will get fed when they need it most when you BYOO – Bring Your Own Oatmeal.
It is a guarantee that I wake up starving. I agree with all the nutritionists that say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After hours of sleep our bodies need a good boost of fuel to kick start the day. I would never deprive myself of a nourishing and tasty hot breakfast. I look forward to each and every one of my 6 meals a day.
My travel oatmeal is a lean, hearty combo of whole grain carbs, dried fruit, protein (powdered egg whites) nuts, cinnamon, a dash of salt and a packet of stevia powder. That is all there is to it. I pre-measure all the ingredients for each travel pack with my digital kitchen scale.
With the hotel coffee maker I am in business. Before I brew my coffee I run water through the coffee maker and voila, boiling hot water to make my oatmeal.While my oatmeal steeps, large quantities of coffee are made. Breakfast is served. On my terms.
I was invited by the folks at Truvia® to be a panelist on their Twitter party this coming Thursday night at 6:30-7:30 PST. I hope you can join us over there. The super cute and talented pastry chef Marisa Churchill will be over there talking about her new book Sweet & Skinny. The recipes in the book will wow you with low fat, healthier dessert options that don’t skimp on flavor. But they will help you get into that skimpy bikini.
Many of my readers call me “the stevia queen” so what better than to be a part of this fun Twitter party. The hashtag for the event is #SweetandSkinny and you can follow along on Tweetgrid.
From cakes to cookies, oatmeal, french toast, muffins and pancakes. My sweetener of choice is stevia. You can read about why I left refined sugars behind and switched to this low glycemic, skinny sweetener.
Please remember to stop by to link up your recipes for Get Grillin’. It’s entree week over there and we have $100 worth of Ile De France Cheese.
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Stevia Sweetened Breakfast Recipe Links
- Fruit n’ Egg Skillet Oatmeal
- Mixed Berry Parfaits
- Peaches n’ Cream Cake with Walnuts – Gluten Free
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Pan-Crepes
- Stuffed French Toast
- Very Blueberry Layer Cake – Gluten Free
Food & Travel Links
- Eat Well Spend Less Simple Bites
- Travel Essentials MarlaMeridith.com
Sweet & Skinny Twitter Panelists
- Crazy Adventures in Parenting @crazyadventures
- Diets in Review @dietsinreview
- Fab Find Foodie @fabfindfoodie
- MarlaMeridith.com @MarlaMeridith
- Marisa Churchill @marisachurchill
- Truvia @truvia
Giveaway Details
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for your entries. Congrats to Roxana from A Little Bit of Everything.
I have an amazing pack of Truvia® goodies to share with one lucky USA based reader. Here is what will be in your prize pack:
- Truvia® branded gardening tote and gloves
- a Copy of Marisa Churchill’s new book Sweet & Skinny
- Truvia® natural sweetener – 1 spoonable, 1 80-count box and a 7-day pack (that’s a whole lot of sweetness!)
- Truvia® branded water bottle
How to Enter
Tell me what your favorite breakfast or dessert is. To earn additional entries, leave a separate comment for each of the steps listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, the number generator will not count them as separate entries. This giveaway will close on Sunday, June 26th, 12 midnight PST.
- Re-tweet this giveaway, being sure to include my Twitter handle (@MarlaMeridith). Here’s a sample tweet you could use: Sweet stuff! @MarlaMeridith has a @truvia and @marisachurchill cookbook giveaway. Stop by to enter: http://su.pr/1dgj8H
- Follow @MarlaMeridith on Twitter
- Follow @truvia on Twitter
- Follow @marisachurchill on Twitter
- Copy and paste this MarlaMeridith.com Badge into your sidebar or a blog post.
- Stumble this post
*You can stay in touch with MarlaMeridith.com or Truvia® on Faceboook too.
224 Comments
I always eat my oatmeal in that fashion and love it. your pictures are stunning!
Cheers,
Rosa
My favorite is still hot fudge sundaes.
Fave dessert *this week* would be the Magic Eight Bars I made.
Ask me again next week 🙂
“travel oatmeal is a lean, hearty combo of whole grain carbs, dried fruit, protein (powdered egg whites) nuts, cinnamon, a dash of salt and a packet of stevia powder.” = THAT is great info!!!!
Hi Averie! I know, you and I are the stevia queens 🙂 Your Magic Eight Bars are awesome girl. I want to dive right into those photos. Magical, yes?!
following you on twitter
following marissa on twitter
following truvia on twitter (and I love it…love any and all forms of stevia)
I always use Truvia/Cinnamon mix when making churros!! They are extra sweet and the consistency of Truvia is just like granulated sugar!!
Hi Danitza, you are so right about the texture of Truvia. I love it for it’s granulated texture & that little bit of crunch. Churros?? How fabulous, especially with the cinnamon!
I travel with plastic bags of raw oats too. Such an easy breakfast while traveling.
Hey Marci, great minds think alike 😉 I think we discussed on Twitter how essential it is that we travel with our own food. It is so easy & tasty! How was Aspen?
following you on twitter.
Oatmeal isn’t a desert, but I’m going to say it anyways because of this post! I could literally eat it for every meal, snack, and dessert of the day 🙂 I am going to Boulder on Friday and I am totes going to pack my own oatmeal.
I already follow you on Twitter- but now I’m following Truvia. PS- is your bowl from Anthro? I’m diggin’ it. Super cute!
Hi Lee. Yes, the bowl is from Anthro – can’t get enough of that place! As far as that oatmeal goes, I am with you, it absolutely dubs as a dessert. Boulder, how fun! What are you doing there? I was there last year for the Food & Light Photography event. Had the BEST time. Enjoy your oats on the road!
My favorite breakfast is french toast!
Kalynn, when I am not traveling it is my Stuffed French Toast every single morning. *love it!*
I already follow you on Twitter!
I also tweeted about the giveaway!
I “Stumble!’d” this post also
I think I’ll vote for strawberry rhubarb pie.
Thought oatmeal is certainly very good!
I don’t know why I never thought of this before. Such a great idea, and I just bought some Wonderful brand pistachios for a topping. Great post!
I toasted those pistachios & it enhanced the flavor & texture. Yum! Have fun with your oatmeal.
Great idea! Beautiful pictures too!
What a great idea… I love that you pack so well for travel! I use this kind of sweetener in yogurt dips and puddings often. So does my Grandma!
Georgia, if Grandma Pellegrini uses stevia than I know I am onto a sure thing! Some folks are freaked to make the change, but when they try it they are pleased. I cannot even taste the difference anymore between stevia & sugar. Sugar does not agree with me anyway so it’s a no go.
I am coming over to your place for those yogurt dips & puddings!
My favorite breakfast is pancakes!
Favorite Breakfast? Eggs Benedict!! Love them!
I tweeted!
I follow @MarlaMeridith!!
I follow truvia!
Great giveaway! My mom uses this brand but I’ve never tried it so I would love to try it. I gotta say my favorite dessert is a perfect brownie, but it has to be just right 😀
Heidi, brownies are the perfect dessert, the more chocolate the better!
I follow Marisa Churchill!
I stumbled!
I eat oatmeal every morning. It’s my absolute favorite! I’ll try to make the Twitter Truvia party tomorrow. xxoo
Funny — my favorite breakfast is oatmeal! And I, too, always travel with a cooler packed of food, including baggies of oatmeal, flax, craisins, and slivered almonds so I can whip up my oatmeal any time, any place! But it’s not complete without adding a single-serving packet of Justin’s Maple Almond Nut Butter for some protein and a bit of sweetness. 🙂
Natasha, I also bring those single servings of Justin’s Nut Butter. I love their natural PB & almond butters. I will add that to the post 🙂 Glad to hear you are a fellow prepared traveler. We would need to take turns using that coffee maker 😉
Love Oatmeal and love that you are up at 4am my little energizer bunny friend!!! Still not sold on the Truvia thing – give me honey, maple or agave syrup any day – but glad it’s working well for you.
Hey Lucy, I get that. At least I have you on the oatmeal thing. The only hotel breakfasts that were worth my time this year were at the Grand Velas. Nothing like an elegant meal any time of day that is all included in my hotel fee 😉
And let’s not forget mini bars with m&m’s & wine…..
I love steel cut oats with dried cranberries, almond slivers, and honey. So delicious and hearty!
Amy I love slivered almonds too, especially toasted ones.
I follow you on Twitter (@amyradish)
I follow Truvia on Twitter (@amyradish)
I follow Marisa Churchill on Twitter (@amyradish)
If I could have oatmeal, that would be my fave breakfast AND dessert – at least for a week or so. Fingers crossed this giveaway is open to non-US residents!
Hi Anne, unfortunately this giveaway is open to my US readers only. Hopefully down the road I can talk PR into shipping internationally. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment.
Anne, you could always get a US address from a package forwarding service and then forward yourself the oatmeal overseas. 🙂 Try http://bit.ly/m7f1bv
Reid, that is an interesting service. Had never heard of it before.
My favorite breakfast lately has been toasted oat bran with milk poured on top to cool it off and a huge glob of sunflower butter. I’ll sweeten my toasted oat bran with stevia and cinnamon.
This is a great giveaway!
Fallon I love toasting my oats & oat bran before cooking it. Adds so much flavor!
I stumbled FamilyFreshCooking.
I’m a fan of you on facebook.
My favorite breakfast is either fresh juiced carrots, or a blueberry and banana smoothie. Thank you for this opportunity.
I’m a big fan of the protein-shake breakfast! Especially with cereal sprinkled on top.
following you on twitter (peasontoast)!
following truvia on twitter!
following marisachurchill on twitter!
Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast too, even in the summer. I keep packets of it in my desk at school because I like to go in early and have breakfast while reviewing the day’s work. I’ve never added powdered egg whites or protein powder to mine though- I’m going to start doing that! 🙂
Betty, the protein gives the oatmeal a lot more holding power. So do the nuts. Anything to keep the energy levels high, the mind functioning and the belly happy!
I’m an oatmeal fan as well. I make all kinds – one is tropical (unsweetened coconut, dried pineapple & cashews.)
My favorite breakfast is an egg scramble. I’m more into savory for breakfast, but truvia at all other times of the day. 🙂
What a great idea! 🙂
Great giveaway! My favorite breakfast is french toast. Such a yummy treat!
French toast is my favorite too. Kinda like eating cake for breakfast. I am so happy I have come up with a guilt free way to indulge in it every day! My Stuffed French Toast 🙂
I follow you on twitter – @katrinadingle
I tweeted about your giveaway! – @katrinadingle
if you asked me last month what’s my favorite breakfast meal I didn’t know what to answer. I used to skip breakfast quite often.
Now, after some health issues I’m having my oatmeal every single morning and I’m growing to love it.
One question Marla : egg white powder is the same as meringue powder or something else. Never had before.
Hi Roxana, that is a great question. I just did some research and it looks like they are not the same at all. The egg white powder is a pure product with no other ingredients whereas the meringue powder is for pastries and has egg whites, sugar & guar gum. I’ll be sticking with the pure egg whites for sure 😉
Thanks Marla. Going to look at the health store for some egg white powder.
have a wonderful day 🙂
Great Roxana, I hope you have an easy time finding it 🙂
tweeted about the giveaway
http://twitter.com/#!/GrinGarl/status/83757224463302657
follow you on twitter
now following truvia on tweeter
now following Marisa Churchill on twitter @gringarl
stumbled this post
My favorite breakfast is overnight oats with raisins, cinnamon, and bananas!
Jessica, I love those overnight oats too! Bananas make ’em extra sweet & creamy….would love some right about now 🙂
My favorite breakfast is a whole grain, high fiber toasted english muffin with peanut butter!
Erin, I am all about anything with gobs of natural peanut butter!
I follow you on twitter
I tweeted!
I follow Marissa on twitter
I always pack food with me when I travel as well, you are right 20 dollar hotel oatmeal is just ridiculous! My favorite breakfasts are oats, quinoa, or other whole grains with some almond milk and a little honey.
If you are a gastronomic adventurous and care to try something different, Just step into Hotel StudioEstique early in the morning and enjoy some delicate & healthy food without an enduring hollow in your pocket.
Hey there Studioesque Hotel…looks like you guys are in India? How fun! I would love to get there someday to enjoy one of your “delicate and healthy” food 🙂
I love cinnamon toast (Truvia + cinnamon) on Food for Life bread or OATMEAL. It is the number one fav because of ALL the different combos. I can have it everyday of the week and put new add ins to make it fun and never boring! Thanks for the chance and have a great day!
4AM?!?!? You are a rockstar. I get up at six and thought THAT was early.
I never ever ever miss breakfast. I love it too much. And I SO travel with oatmeal also. It’s so deliciously dependable!
Joanne, we are two very driven ladies. I started waking up at 4am when work got busier and I needed a bunch of “me” time in the morning. I love my long, quiet, hot breakfast and then a few hours of work time before my kids wake up. Miss breakfast? Never, ever.
I’m a big fan of nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh or thawed frozen berries, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and if I’m feeling really daring some slivered almonds or Kaski 7 grain cereal sprinkled on top.
I love your travel oatmeal mix, Marla! There’s a little bit of everything in there for a delicious meal and healthy fuel. Thanks for hosting this giveaway — oats are my favorite breakfast! 🙂
I’ve heard you talk about your “travel oatmeal” many times and I’m so glad to have your recipe now! I’ll be packing these next time I leave town.
Carrie, they are a life saver I tell you 🙂
Totally genius, my dear! I wrote about packing healthy snacks for the plane recently, but this takes it one step further, doesn’t it? Super smart.
Aimee, these little oatmeal packs are great on the plane too. All you need to do is badger the flight attendants for some extra cups and hot water. Simple & way better than that nasty airplane food. xo
Stumbled!
I get up early as well and start with a glass of hot lemon water. Then I either get to a 6am yoga class or go for a walk(today I walked).Then I come home and make a protein shake; organic blueberries, a bit of yogurt. I am not a coffee drinker, but I am into combining a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder and a bit of espresso powder, make a paste with boiling water and add it to the blender. I get my chocolate fix in the am which is satisfying me for the rest of the day! Loving the oatmeal to go, Marla! Brilliant!
My favorite breakfast is…. everything! I LOVE breakfast… its my favorite meal by FAR!
Hi Marla-
My favorite breakfast (lately) is one egg with chopped garlic scapes, cooked in coconut oil and some brown rice or potatoes. My fiance cooks and packs my breakfast for me every day, so it’s always a surprise as to what I will get (always healthy and delicious, though)!
I LOVE stevia, but have not tried Truvia yet. I am interested experiencing the nice granulated “crunch” you mentioned!!
Melissa, are you a lucky gal or what! Awesome that your fiance makes you these amazing healthy & tasty breakfasts. Those eggs in coconut oil sound amazing 🙂
Also, I saw that you eat 6 meals per day. May I ask what they normally consist of? I like to eat about 5-6 small meals/snacks per day, as well. It really keeps my energy levels up!
6 meals per day: Larger whole grain, carb dense breakfast, lunch & dinner are volume based with mostly veggies and then mindful portions of healthy fats & lean protein. My mid morning snack – a small muffin (my kind: sugar free, whole grain) or such with some nut butter, same in the afternoon between lunch & dinner. Before bed, thick fat free greek yogurt with stevia and peanut butter. I must do a post on this. I do however have a post called Mini Meals you might be interested in.
Wow, that sounds a lot like what I eat! I need my carbs in the morning, for my mid-morning snack, and at dinner (post-workout), but the rest of my meals consist mainly of lean protein and tons of veggies, as well! It’s so nice having a bunch of tasty little meals to look forward throughout the day 🙂
I love to eat rolled oats, uncooked with ground flax, honey and vanilla soymilk. Nice alternative for oatmeal on a hot morning.
Favorite breakfast…scrambled eggs!!!! Oatmeal in the winter is the best.
Favorite dessert is creme brulee!
I love any form of oatmeal for breakfast and of course a spoonful of peanut butter to top it off:-)
I follow you on twitter:-)
My fav breakfast is pancakes {& coffee is a must}
Paula, no matter what the breakfast is-excellent coffee & lots of it are essential! Let’s do pancakes, oatmeal & coffee together some day, OK?!
I follow you on Twitter!
Stumbled!
My favorite breakfast is my Jar Breakfast parfait. I make 1/4 cup of overnight oatmeal (oatmeal, 1/4 cup of milk, pinch of chia seeds and sprinkle of cinnamon) stick in the fridge. In the morning I layer a mason jar in the following orer: 1/4 cup of greek non-fat plain yogurt, strawberries & blueberries, over night oatmeal, 1/2 Tbsp of Almond Butter, 1/4 cup of the greek yogurt, more berries and topped with granola.
It’s so good and fills me for hours!
I followed Truvia on Twitter!
Oh my gosh – this is brilliant!! I love this and WILL try this! Oatmeal is one of my all time favorite breakfast dishes….especially with dried fruits and nuts!
My favorite breakfast is definitely pancakes of any flavor!! Yum!! Dessert will always be brownie a la mode!
Love oatmeal prepared this way…very delicious and packed with goodness!
This is my type of breakfast
My favorite breakfast is scrambled eggs in the microwave. SO fast and easy and no added oil/butter as I would w/ the stove method. Also love honey vanilla greek yogurt w/ half an emerald nut breakfast blend packet added. Don’t forget the coffee!!!
I make whole grain, fruit and nut muffins or bread. I eat 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and a muffin or slice of bread, a glass of V8 Fusion, and usually a banana. Gets and keeps me going all morning!
follow marlameridith on twitter
ruthhill74
follow truvia on twitter
ruthhill74
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ruthhill74
retweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/GrinGarl/status/83757224463302657
Your breakfast idea is brilliant – I love the addition of the powdered egg whites for protein, I always feel a bit of a rush if I have too many carbohydrates for breakfast so always like to have some protein in there. I am not sure we have Stevia here in the UK, i haven’t ever seen in.
its hard to not to love a good ol pile of pancakes.
buuuut my favorite breakfast would have to be a runny egg over spinach and tomatoes with a rudi’s english muffin for dipping! with grainy garlic mustard. mmmm.
Oh my gosh Marla- you are so healthy! very impressive!
I try girl. #highmaintenance 😉
Bummed I am gonna miss you when you are in LA. Gotta meet up sooner than later….K?
LOVE love love this idea! Does it count as an entry if you “tweet” on facebook? Just did, so I’m hoping. ..
It makes me laugh. Guess I’m not the only one that packs food to eat at the hotel.
Whole wheat bread toasted really well with avocado smashed on it will always hit the spot 🙂
Mary, smashed avocado is always dreamy. Did you ever see my Avocado Scones? #addicted.
My favorite breakfast is a toasted mutligrain english muffin with a variety of toppings depending on my mood (eggs and spinach, chesse, nut butter spread).
Robin, I sometimes like one side of my whole grain english muffin to be savory & the other sweet…..go figure!
tweeted this giveaway
Timbosbeautiful
following you on twitter
following truvia on twitter
following Marisa Chruchill on twitter
I LOVE oatmeal. I eat it at least once a day. Usually for breakfast I’ll do overnight oats, but if I get up early enough I like cooking up oat bran + oats +peanut flour. NOMS.
I tweeted ya under @punifa!
Already follow you on twitter.
Followed truvia
and followed maria!
That’s such a great idea! My favorite dessert….a good ol’ chocolate chip cookie!
During summer, it’s protein/yougurt smoothies made with fresh fruit and even veggies (can’t taste the carrots or spinach!).
Christine, it is amazing how much nutrition & flavor we can pack into smoothies. Neat that you can toss in the veggies and just taste the fruit!
I love oatmeal mixed with nut butters–almond, peanut, hazelnut…
Angela, hazelnut butter. Nice! I gotta make myself some of that. With cocoa powder. A healthy Nutella 🙂
I stumbled this post!
I follow you on Twitter!
I also follow Truvia on Twitter.
Marla, what a great idea for traveling! I travel with food too, usually for the plane ride and our first meal on the ground. This is a terrific idea – we’re going on a trip soon, so this will be in my suitcase 😉
Following Truvia on twitter
I have to eat breakfast… I don’t understand how someone can get up and go without breakfast.
I usually just have a bowl of Special K with berries. 🙂
Kate, it is essential over here & I would put that in all CAPS but then it would sound like I am screaming 😉 Glad to hear you are a breakfast junkie too 🙂
I follow you on twitter
Stumbled!
Oatmeal with a bit a fruit has always been my favorite way to start my day. 🙂
I want to try your oatmeal recipe soon! Looks so yummy! I su you too
I love Oatmeal with flaxseed and maple syrup.
My favorite breakfast probably is oatmeal. I love the plain so I can add whatever to suit my craving at the moment. I love this idea of bringing little baggies when traveling. It’s something I’m definitely going to remember.
Plain is the only way to go for me too. I also don’t like the quick cook oats, kinda taste like card board to me. These cook up fast enough & waaayy more flavor than those little pre packaged store bought deals. So glad you stopped by 🙂
I follow you on twitter: @teawench
my favorite breakfast is tofu scramble or vegan blueberry pancakes
follow you on twitter (gidgetnfroggi
My favorite breakfast is oatmeal! I am going to use this travel oatmeal idea for sure! Love truvia!
tweeted gidgetnfroggi
I love oatmeal with 1 carrot shredded and cooked with the oatmeal.
I love this oatmeal!! What a fantastic idea! I too wake up starving and tend to be a bit grumpy when I don’t find something to eat soon enough. And, I love the fact that it has egg whites in it too. Thanks, Marla! This is SO great!