First, put the chia seeds and about 1/4 cup water into a bowl to soak. Chia seeds soak up water like crazy, and while they create a really filling gel, it can really dry out your meal to add them before they're saturated!

Using a medium saucepan, heat 3/4 cup water until boiling, then add your oats. Don't put the lid on and make sure to frequently check on your oatmeal and give it a stir - I find that steel cut oats are pretty finicky about boiling over and making a mess!

Once the oats have absorbed most of the water (about 8 minutes), go ahead and add your pumpkin and spices, mixing thoroughly. You can also add the bowl of chia gel now.

While the mixture is heating up again, separate two egg whites from their yolks and beat in a bowl until very frothy. Bonus: arm workout included in your breakfast making!

Once your pumpkin oatmeal starts to bubble, pour your frothy egg whites in and mix thoroughly. If you're cooking at medium to medium-high heat, it should only take a minute or two for your egg whites to cook - you'll want to be stirring pretty constantly this whole time to prevent clumping. If you've done it right, the egg whites will easily incorporate to the rest of the mixture, resulting in a thick, puffy, cloud-like consistency. No lumps at all!

Finally, pour into a bowl and top with a little bit more cinnamon plus some brown sugar. (I noted one teaspoon because that's what I used, but it's really to your personal taste.) For an extra bonus taste of fall, I love adding a tablespoon of Trader Joe's Fig Butter on top... yum!