Quaker has partnered with Bravo TV's "Top Chef" for the first-ever Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge. They’re inviting people to submit their own original recipe using Quaker Oats on www.BravoTV.com/quickfire during the month of February.

Three finalists will travel to New York City and go head-to-head in the first-ever Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge. The finalists will experience what it's like to be a Top Chef when they put their culinary skills to the test and compete in a live Quickfire Challenge and prepare a new, original dish with Quaker Oats. If their culinary creation passes muster with the judges, the winner will have the chance to attend a future "Top Chef" episode. (Click here to enter the Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge and to see the official rules.)

Quaker’s “Top This!” Oatmeal Bowl Contest

Now for a little inspiration, here’s my recipe for Nutty Orange Monkey Oats, which I submitted to Quaker as part of the Quaker Oats Living Proof Blogger Event last November.

Our recipes had to use a minimum of ¾ cup uncooked Quaker Oats (1 ½ cups cooked). Oats used in recipe must be whole (not ground into flour). Recipe can contain no more than 10 ingredients (excluding water). The recipe must meet the following nutrition criteria:

• Less than 400 calories per serving
• Less than 1g saturated fat per serving
• Less than 12g added sugar per serving
• Less than 20 mg of cholesterol per serving
• Less than 480 mg of sodium per serving
• At least 3g of fiber (oat soluble fiber)

I think I met all the requirements but maybe went overboard on the fat content due to the pine nuts.

Nutty Orange Monkey Oats
Try this burst of tropical sunshine on a cold winter morning. People who are allergic to tree nuts can enjoy pine nuts (also called pinyon nuts) because they’re actually seeds.

Ingredients:

1. ¾ cup uncooked, Quick Quaker Oats
2. ½ cup Tropicana Pure Premium® Calcium + Vitamin D
3. 1 cup water
4. ½ of a medium banana, sliced
5. 30 (approximately 3 teaspoons) pine nuts (also called pignolia or pinyon nuts)
6. ¼ tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the Quaker Oats with the Tropicana orange juice, and water.
2. Add the pine nuts and banana slices and sprinkle cinnamon over the top.
3. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
4. Remove from microwave, stir and enjoy!

Having one of those mornings where the whole family is running late? Try this idea for a bowl of Nutty Orange Monkey Oats on the Go.

1. After cooking the oatmeal and other ingredients, pour it into an electric blender.
2. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of warm water and blend until smooth.
3. Immediately pour into a wide mouthed shaker bottle. (It will be too thick to drink through a straw.)
4. Enjoy on your way to school or work.

I didn’t win, but my friend Jennette Fulda of Pasta Queen,  got to go to the Oatmeal Festival in Lafayette, CO last month – sorta. See her post A cautionary tale: Why you should ALWAYS look at the map beforehand (preferably with elevation) on why she didn’t make it.

Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge and some Nutty Orange Monkey Oats is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I’m participating in the Quaker Start with Substance campaign to get a case of Quaker oatmeal for the Tri-Town Food Bank*, but I need your help!

1. Go to the go to Quaker Start with Substance site and click on the link to get to the Quaker Oats Facebook page. (While you’re there become a fan and visit and fan Share Our Strength’s Facebook page, too.)
2. Scroll down, find, and download the image of the Quaker Man (the link is on the right side towards the bottom).
3. Print it out, take a photo or video of yourself or your family with the Quaker Man. Then upload it to Quaker Facebook page.
4. Then come back here, and leave a comment with the link to your Facebook picture submission. The blogger who gets the most reader submissions within 24 hours will win the opportunity to select a hunger charity of their choice to receive a $5,000 donation made to the charity by the Quaker Oats Company.

Rules

Here are the Official Rules. Please note that the photo or video must be taken in your home with your family member(s) or feature just yourself.

All submissions are subject to the Facebook Terms and Conditions.

Also, the Quaker Man logo must remain in intact and may not be modified in any manner. Readers must use the exact download of the image, and all entries need to be wholesome in nature. No nudity, defamation, obscene language or inappropriate, rude behavior in the photograph submitted will be accepted. Please keep it G-rated folks!

Compliance with these rules is subject to the sole discretion of The Quaker Oats Company.

What’s in it for you?

For your efforts, you can win two coupons, each good for $1.00 off any two Quaker Oats’ products. I’ll also email you some terrific oatmeal recipes from the bloggers who attended the Quaker Oatmeal Blogger Event last November. It’s not much but you’re helping out people in need and getting your 15 minutes of fame at the Quaker Oats Facebook page, too.

Have fun and thanks in advance for participating!

* The Tri-Town Food Bank serves those in need in Dacono, Frederick, Firestone and the immediate surrounding areas of Weld County, Colorado. The area has faced many layoffs and foreclosures and people desperately need the help.

Quaker Start with Substance campaign – help me feed the hungry is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Click here to find out how to win five cups of yummy Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt!

Stonyfield Farm’s new line of Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt recently made its appearance at my local grocery store. I love Greek yogurt for its taste and thickness as much as its health benefits. Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt has 0% fat, just 90 calories per 5.3 oz.-serving (for plain), twice the protein of regular yogurt, fewer carbohydrates, and its lower in lactose than regular yogurt.

Inspired by the recipe Fitness Surfer sent me for Eating For Life oatmeal pancakes, I thought I’d try a yogurt version.

High Protein Yogurt Oatcakes
Makes four servings of three pancakes (3-4")

These high protein oatmeal pancakes taste great covered with a shmear of Oikos Greek yogurt (plain, vanilla, blueberry, or honey) or drizzled with with maple syrup, honey, fruit syrup, or agave nectar. I used Top Chef winner, Stephanie Izard’s recipe for Pomegranate Syrup for my pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup instant, one-minute, old fashioned, or steel cut Quaker oats*
• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup fat-free Stonyfield yogurt or Oikos Greek Style yogurt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1T agave nectar, honey, maple syrup or sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree.
2. Coat a hot pancake griddle or frying pan with a little butter, oil or a non-stick spray. (I like PAM All Natural Original Canola Oil No-Stick Cooking Spray since it doesn’t gunk up my pans.)
3. Pour approximate 1/4 cup of batter to make a 3-4" pancake. Flip over once the batter starts to bubble.

*Quaker Oats are the same nutritionally. They roll the oats thinner to make them faster cooking. So steel cut isn’t better than old fashioned or instant.

Approximate nutritional Information for 3 pancakes (1 serving)
Each pancake is one Weight Watcher POINT.

Calories – 136
Fat – 12 calories, 2g
Fiber – 1g
Protein – 11g
Carbs – 21g
Sugars – 9g

Pomegranate Syrup
If you don’t have pomegranate juice on hand, try orange, cranberry or acai berry juice instead. If the juice you’re using is bitter (like black currant juice) use more sweetener or add some apple juice.

Ingredients:

• 1 c 100% pomegranate juice
• 2 T honey or agave nectar

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Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt and oatmeal pancakes is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I’m back from the Quaker Oats Living Proof blogger event. It was wonderful! I met some terrific bloggers, and learned an incredible amount about heart health, which I hope to share soon.

One of the highlights was meeting Stephanie Izard, the winner of season four of Bravo’s Top Chef. She gave us a short cooking demo of her oatmeal pancake recipe. I liked how she ground down some oatmeal and kept some plain for texture. Loved that she used whipped egg whites instead of whole eggs, too.

Stephanie used juice to make a light pancake syrup – a healthier alternative to pancake syrup. She used pomegranate, but you can use other juices like orange, blueberry, or cranberry. These would be great for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning!

Oat Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
• 1/2 c milk (skim, 1%, 2% – all will work)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 c ground Quaker Oatmeal (use a food processor to grind them up)
• 3/4 c Quaker Oatmeal (instant, quick, steel cut, etc. up to you)
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour (for gluten free people, substitute your favorite GF flour)
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 t baking powder
• 2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
• sliced banana for garnish

Directions:

1. Blend bananas and milk together in blender.
2. Transfer to bowl and stir in vanilla, oats, flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Fold in egg whites. 
4. Spray nonstick griddle with pan spray and heat over medium heat.
5. Add in a few spoonfuls of batter, leaving room for when they expand.
6. Cook on each side until lightly browned. 
7. To serve, top with banana slices and drizzle with pomegranate syrup.

Stephanie says you can combine all the ingredients the night before and add the egg whites just before cooking to save time.

Pomegranate Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 c 100% pomegranate juice
• 2 T honey

Directions:

1. In non-reactive sauce pan, reduce liquid over medium high heat until thickened. The sauce will still be thin, but delicious!

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Stephanie Izard’s Oatmeal Pancake Recipe is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

I’m on my way to Chicago today to hang out with the folks from Quaker Oats and a bunch of very cool food, health and diet bloggers.

In no particular order, they are…

Carla of MizFit Online

If you want to know what’s going on with me or the rest of the gang, check out my Twitter feed. Or go to Twitter search and lookup #quaker.

And no, I won’t be hanging out at Goose Island all weekend drinking beer or going to the Billy Goat Tavern for a cheezborger.

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Quaker Oats Living Proof blogger event is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

The winners in my Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof contest are:

(drum roll please)

• Rachel of Rachel in Beijing
• Molly R.

Congratulations everyone. Quaker will be sending out your big box of oatmeal goodies soon!

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And the oatmeal goes to… is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

This week, I’m hosting the Carnival of the Recipes. I asked everyone to send me oatmeal recipes to inspire me when I go to the Quaker Oats Living Proof Event. If they didn’t have one, then they sent in a healthy recipe instead. Thanks to all the bloggers who participated.

(If you missed the carnival and want to submit a healthy oatmeal recipe, leave the link in the comments below.)

Healthy Recipes

• Marsha Hudnall presents Halloween Healthy Recipe: Mummy Hot Dogs posted at A Weight Lifted.
• Alex Bo presents Kombucha Drink Recipes posted at Drink Healthy Drinks.
• Laurel presents Soups for Fall/Winter posted at Laurel on Health Food.
• Catherine Geheris presents Fresh Veggie Chili posted at Living the Gourmet.
• Anne Glamore presents 3 Weeks of Menus posted at My Tiny Kingdom. (Check out the recipe for Sausage and Lentil Stew – yummy!)
• Alex Bo presents Mint Drink Recipes posted at Drink Healthy Drinks.

Oatmeal Recipes

• Arvind Devalia presents Arvind Devalia » Amenana – Food of the Gods posted at Arvind Devalia.
• Quaker Oats Great Pumpkin Cookies posted at my other blog, My Readable Feast – children’s book activities, kidlit reviews, and children’s cooking activities. Mmmmmmmm, pumpkin.

Bill Austin had a bunch of oatmeal recipes on his various blogs:

• Oatmeal Carmelitas posted at Famous Recipes.
• Carnival of the Recipes – Healthy Recipes and Oatmeal Recipes posted at Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Local News and Business Directory.
• Skirlie Stuffed Chicken posted at Chicken Recipes – Recipes for Chicken. The chicken is stuffed with oatmeal – how cool!
• Wild Herb Stuffed Chicken (with oatmeal) posted at Famous Recipes.
• Cranberry, Orange & Oatmeal Muffins posted at Famous Recipes.
• Slow Cooker Pot Luck Oatmeal posted at Slow Cooker Recipes and Crockpot Recipes.
• Slow Cooker Overnight Oatmeal posted at Diabetic Recipes – Diabetic Meals.
• Low Fat Banana Oatmeal Cookies posted at Recipes Recipe – Famous Recipes.

Check out my previous blog carnivals.

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In praise of oatmeal: healthy recipes from the Carnival of the Recipes is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Just a reminder that you have until midnight MT on October 30, 2008 to enter my Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof contest for one of two chances to win a one month supply of Quaker’s heart healthy breakfast products.

Quaker Oats has all kinds of yummy oatmeal recipes on their website. If you’re looking for healthier ones, try searching under Heart Healthy, Lower Fat, Lower Sugar, or Low Sodium. Be forewarned that lower fat isn’t the same as low fat. Some of those yummy recipes are pretty high in calories, so check the nutritional information and plug the numbers into my online Weight Watchers POINTS calculator.

Here’s a healthy recipe perfect for fall. If you’re looking to lower the POINTS, omit the pasta and add more veggies. Just rename it Meatball and Veggie soup.

ABC Meatball Soup
Makes 6 servings

Meatballs ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey breast OR lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1/3  cup barbecue sauce OR catsup

Soup ingredients:

• 1 can (49 oz.) reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1/4 cup alphabet-shaped pasta
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (do not thaw)

Directions:

1. Heat broiler. Lightly spray rack of broiler pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, combine meatball ingredients; mix lightly but thoroughly. Transfer to a sheet of foil. Pat mixture into 9 x 6-inch rectangle. Cut into 1-1/2-inch squares; roll each square into a ball. Arrange meatballs on broiler pan.
3. Broil meatballs 6 to 8 inches from heat about 6 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.
4. While meatballs cook, bring chicken broth to a boil in 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pasta and frozen vegetables; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 8 minutes or until vegetables and pasta are tender. Add meatballs and cook 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Cook Tips and Variations

• Garlic powder, onion powder or dried thyme leaves may be added to the meatball ingredients.
• Frozen corn, frozen green beans, frozen peas and carrots, or your favorite vegetable blend may be substituted for the mixed vegetables.
• To lower Weight Watchers POINTS and calories, omit pasta and increase vegetables.

Nutrition Information: Serving size is 1/6 of recipe
Calories: 230, Calories from Fat: 25, Total Fat: 2.5g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 590mg, Total Carbohydrates: 27g, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Sugars: 5g, Protein: 28g

Weight Watchers POINTS per serving: 4

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Quaker Oats ABC Meatball Soup is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!

Enter my Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof contest for one of two chances to win a one month supply of Quaker’s heart healthy breakfast products.

Twenty-five years of clinical proof shows that the soluble fiber in Quaker Oatmeal can help lower your cholesterol. Ten years ago, the FDA approved a health claim for the relationship between consuming whole oat, oat bran and oat flour and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease based on the ability of soluble fiber in oats to help reduce cholesterol. Quaker Oatmeal, as part of a heart healthy lifestyle, can help you become living proof that it works.

So why not give it a try with a free box of Quaker Oatmeal breakfast goodies? Your Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof Kit includes:

• Two tubes of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
• Two boxes of Quaker Oatmeal To Go Bars
• Two boxes of Quaker Oatmeal Squares
• Two boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal

Sounds like a winter’s worth of oatmeal to me!

Here’s how to enter my giveaway:

1. Leave your name, email address, and blog address (if you have one) in the comments below for ONE entry.
2. If you have a blog, feel free to post about this contest on it for ONE entry.
3. Sign up for my RSS feed for ONE entry.
4. Sign up for my enewsletter for ONE entry.
5. If you have signed up for my RSS feed and/or enewsletter and/or posted about my contest on your blog, come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!
6. Maximum amount of entries at This Mama Cooks! is FOUR – leaving an email here, posting about it on your blog, signing up for my RSS feed, and signing up for my enewsletter.
7. Maximum amount of entries at This Mama Cooks! is FOUR – leaving an email here, posting about it on your blog, signing up for my RSS feed, and signing up for my enewsletter.
8. I will be hosting another Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof Kit giveaway at my blog, My Readable Feast. You may enter that as well, but the contests are separate – only FOUR entries will count in each giveaway.
9. You must be willing to send me your full name and mailing address. I will forward this information to Quaker Oats and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, so they can mail out your Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof Kit. If you do not feel comfortable giving Quaker or Ogilvy your mailing information, please do not enter this giveaway.
10. I will announce the winners on November 3, 2008 on this blog. I will not share your mailing info with the public, just your name. If you have a blog, I will link back to it when I announce the winners.
11. You have until midnight MT on October 30, 2008 to enter.

Prize valued at $26 or less. Open to legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Up to FOUR entries per person via This Mama Cooks! Void where prohibited by law. By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! in compliance with our privacy policy and giveaway rules.

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Win a one month supply of Quaker Oats heart healthy breakfast products is a post from: This Mama Cooks! Stop by for more healthy recipes!