Mix Your Own Oatmeal

Welcome! In traditional KT fashion, many months have passed since my last post ;) This morning, I felt particularly inspired to share what I thought was a pretty innovative breakfast with anyone who'll take the time to read my post!

Let me start by telling you that I've never, in all my 28 years, made oatmeal on the stove. Now, my mother would probably scoff at that and tell me that I must have made old fashioned oatmeal at some point in my life, but seeing as I didn't even like oatmeal until I was in college, and at that time, I was a lazy college student and bought things that only required a bowl & a microwave, I can vouch for the fact that it hasn't happened. I've even gotten my kids (ages 5 & 6) hooked on packet oatmeal! But honestly, if you take a look at them, those oatmeal packets get expensive, especially in comparison to just buying straight-up Quaker in one of those fun tubes. Also, whether you're a busy college student or a busy mom, packet oatmeal is convenient.

I had a notion a while back to make my own oatmeal packets (who knew you could buy quick oats & just make oatmeal in the microwave?! Yes, it's sad, but I never knew until this summer...). I could just bag up enough oatmeal in sandwich bags, add some general tastiness for the kids, like brown sugar and/or cinnamon, and then have them mix with water, microwave, and add some fruit - voila!

That great plan of making my mornings cheaper and no more time-consuming hasn't happened yet, but I did make some oatmeal on the stovetop this fine Sunday morning, and we mixed our own tastiness with fixings that I already had in stock: chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, real maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh apple slices, and dried cherries. You take your pick! I'm including how I made the oatmeal along with our different chosen concoctions.

Let's Start Healthy Oatmeal
This is based on the recipe on the side of the Quaker old fashioned oats tube... just as I'm sure you do, I made it my own.
1 1/4 c water
1 1/2 c milk
heaping 1/8 t salt
1 3/4 c oats
1/8 t pure vanilla extract
2 T chia seeds

Bring water, milk, and salt to a boil. Stir in oats. Stir in vanilla. Continue to cook oatmeal for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches desired consistency. About a minute before removing it from the stove, stir in chia seeds. Serve warm with mix-ins as desired.

Serves 1 adult & 2 kids, for sure... adult serving ~ 3/4 to 1 cup / kid servings ~ 3/8 cup each

Maddie's Campfire Oatmeal
My daughter loves loves loves chocolate (she is her mother's daughter ;)) and she mixed in about 2t maple syrup, 1T brown sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, 25 chocolate chips (yes, she counted :)), and 8 mini marshmallows.

Mondo and Mommy's Orchard Oatmeal
My son and I have very similar tastes when it comes to oatmeal. We both added about 1T maple syrup, 1 1/4T brown sugar, and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. Then we each added 1/8c apple pieces. I further customized with about 1/8c dried cherries (Traverse City love!).

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
-kt