Snack Bar, Vol. 19: Wild Oats

Aspirational nutrition brand Kroma makes porridge that tastes as good as its brand aesthetic looks. Made from a blend of chopped nuts, seeds, and plant protein, the porridge is lightly sweetened with maple sugar and monk fruit and packs 8 grams of protein per serving. I personally love it made with vanilla-flavored almond milk.

If you like to take your oats on the go, Brekki is for you. These cute cups are easy to find at most grocery stores and there’s a flavor for every palate, from spiced apple cinnamon to rich dark chocolate to sweet strawberry. BYO spoon.

Another great option in the ready-to-eat category, Proper Good’s oatmeal is sweet, creamy, and ready to eat in a minute. The Banana Maple flavor is made with real banana puree and gets extra fiber from flax and chia seeds. Spoon this cereal straight from the pouch or heat it for a cozy breakfast or snack.

Sold in single- and multi-serving packs, this flavored oatmeal is great for travel. Each bowl contains 20 grams of protein from peas, pumpkin seeds, and hemp, but it’s all about the mix-ins for bold flavor. The Chocolate and Coconut oats taste like a creamy spoonable Almond Joy bar, and the Banana Bread tastes freshly baked.

If you’re looking for something fruity in the AM, go for the berry-packed Blueberry Maple cup from Mylk Labs. The brief ingredient list includes gluten-free oats, almonds, maple sugar, dried blueberries, coconut sugar, and Himalayan pink salt. This is a clean and simple porridge you can soak overnight to enjoy chilled or whip up in a few minutes with hot milk or water.

This elegantly packaged oatmeal goes big on fiber, with 8 grams per packet. The organic oats are supplemented with hemp seed protein, organic chia seeds, and buckwheat, and sweetened with maple sugar. Choose from classic flavors like Cinnamon and Sugar or try something new like Matcha and Vanilla or Spiced Turmeric and Cardamom.

Savory oats, anyone? Daily Harvest delivers frozen ready-to-heat breakfast bowls made with steel-cut oats and delicious mix-ins, including this unique cremini mushroom and miso option. It tastes like a cozy, creamy soup with enough staying powder to hold you over until lunch. If you prefer something sweet, DH also has blueberry, peach, and banana-flavored oat bowls on the menu.

These oats are mixed up like a protein shake. Pack your shaker bottle and a stash of pouches in your work or gym bag, and you’re set with healthy breakfasts on the go. Just add water and blend up a creamy meal with a whopping 23 (or more) grams of protein.

These little paper packets look like the instant oats of childhood, but they taste far from it. For starters, there’s nary an oat in sight. This cereal is made from almonds and flaxseed and flavored with dried fruit, nuts, and juice. That means no added sugar or gluten, and they’re ready with hot milk or water in less than a minute.

These organic oats might not look like anything special, but they’re naturally higher in protein than your typical quick-cooking oats. This particular variety of oats also produces fewer carbon emissions because it naturally sheds its outer layer before harvest, which removes an energy-intensive step from the production process. They taste like classic oats, though, and make a great blank canvas for your favorite mix-ins.