BRAVE Oatmeal Product Review
As an ultra runner, wife of a cyclist and mother of two boys, mornings in our house are busy. Sometimes I struggle to get breakfast going, but I was raised with the mindset that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” so my goal is to make sure we get nourishing fuel in the tank before we start training, work and school. When I first heard about BRAVE breakfast I got excited. BRAVE markets itself as a nutritious breakfast solution for active, busy people. Each BRAVE breakfast contains a base of oats, chia seeds and hemp hearts. There are four flavors (Apple, Coconut/Mango, Peanut Butter and Mocha Chip) and each take 60 to 90 seconds to prepare. That is the kind of food that gets me out of bed in the morning and when my BRAVE delivery arrived I couldn’t wait to dig in.
BRAVE Oatmeal Product Review
There are two ways to prepare the breakfast. You can make it like overnight oats or like instant oatmeal. For overnight, you add 1-Cup of your favorite milk, stir and then put it in the fridge to have it the next morning. For instant breakfast, you can either add 1 Cup of boiling water, cover and let it sit for 60 – 90 seconds, or you can prepare it by adding 1-Cup of milk and microwaving on high for 90 seconds.
I chose the Mocha Chip to try first and I made it by following the instructions to microwave. I poured 1-Cup of almond milk in a measuring cup and added it to my bowl of BRAVE. Per packaging instructions I gave it a stir and then microwaved it for 90 seconds. I gave it another stir and it was still a bit soupy and needed more time to activate the goodies in the pouch. I let it sit an additional 30 seconds and gave it another stir.
My first impression of the Mocha flavor was intense. The freeze dried coffee and cocoa powder left a bitter and chalky aftertaste in my mouth. I needed a glass of water to chase down the first few bites. The third spoonful, I tasted walnuts and dates, which was so good. I went through the bowl searching for more of that. I liked how the nutty walnuts and sweet, juicy dates balanced the other flavors and I wished it had more of that.
After trying all of the flavors what I love is that one pouch mixed with 1-Cup of milk contains everything that I need for a nutritious breakfast on the go. After adding 1-Cup of unsweetened almond milk (30 calories) I ended up with 480 calories. It is a proper breakfast. I prefer to eat it like overnight oats so the flavors marinate overnight. BRAVE contains 20g of protein which kept me full for a long time. The Coconut/Mango has a naturally sweet taste and it was my favorite flavor. The dried mango rehydrates to a fresh mango texture and it smelled heavenly!
After I had prepared these breakfasts I found myself searching for the oats in my bowl. You have to really love chia seeds. These breakfasts are like a chia pudding with fruit and nuts. All of the flavors except Mango had an artificially sweet taste from the Monk fruit sweetener which is not something I usually eat in my diet. The taste was noticeable to me. Also, it caused some gas which made my 9 mile run very uncomfortable.
Last but not least, my family wanted to try BRAVE. My husband’s idea of a quick breakfast is a hot bowl of oatmeal with an egg, or a bowl of cornflakes with 2% milk. He is a good sport, vegan is not his first choice, but he is happy to eat seeds and nuts for breakfast as long as it is also filling. That being said his feedback on eating BRAVE was that it tasted like a “healthy MRE” (meals ready to eat). If given a choice he would rather have 2 scrambled eggs in between 2 slices of buttered toast packed into a zip-lock bag for the equivalent 20g of protein and 400 calories.
I think BRAVE Oatmeal is a good breakfast option if you are looking for maximum calories with the least amount of weight to take on epic mountain bike packing adventures, camping, or fastpacking. I hope you enjoyed this BRAVE Oatmeal product review and find it handy in helping you decide on your next breakfast of choice.
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Elizabeth Crow is a California based ultrarunner. She is the mother of two active boys and a Food Photographer. She loves nutritious cooking, creating wholesome recipes and eating healthy. When she is not running, she enjoys Crossfit, and traveling with her family.