Quick & Fresh Oatmeal with Fruit

Any brand of whole oats will do, usually, but my favorite is definitely Quaker…I’ve been eating them my whole life.

My favorite brand of oats. I try to use the whole oats, instead of instant, because there is more fiber, protein, and other nutrients since the grain is more intact.

Lately we’ve been having freshly prepared oatmeal about every other morning or so.  Surprisingly, we haven’t been getting tired of it, either.  This is mostly because I finally learned how to cook it so that it tastes good — not burnt, mushy, nor too thick or watery.

We love this as a topping on oatmeal, other cereals, fruit salads, and frozen treats.

Also, the kids like it because we try to give them a choice of toppings they can add to make it just right and just for them.  The little one loves raisins.  Everyone likes Vanilla Silk Soy milk.  I love fresh raspberries and fresh apple slices.  The older kids like fresh banana slices.  (If you really want to be special, use some unsweetened organic dark chocolate…mmmmm).

To make this a quick breakfast on a busy morning, prepare the mix listed below in advance (feeds 3 big eaters or a mixture of 5 to 6 medium to light eaters).  And, yes, this is a very good meal for beginning baby eaters, as well — just be sure to pick out any hulls that may not have been pulled out during plant processing (look similar to the hard thin popcorn hulls).

Just pour the following mix into 5 cups of boiling water plus 1 tsp of vanilla extract and stir often on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes (be sure not to let it cook too long, and remove the pot from the heat source after it’s turned off).  Just before adding the oats, you can also add applesauce (about 1/2 cup) or honey (about 1/4 cup) or another sweetener to taste.

Vanilla Silk Soy Milk is a staple in our home. We drink about 2 gallons a week, at the very least. We've tried several other brands, but always come back to Silk.

Fresh Quick Oatmeal Mix:

3 cups of whole oats

ground cinnamon (sprinkle to taste, usually about .5 tsp for us)

ground ginger (sprinkle to taste, no more than 1/8 tsp for us)

optional: chopped nuts (don’t suggest nuts in the mix if you expect to store it a while)

My "secret" ingredient for flavor-full oatmeal

You can shake up this mix in a sealed zip-seal baggie or bowl/canister that has an air-tight lid.  It will keep as long as all of those ingredients will.  So far as I know, that should be at least 6 months for the freshness of the spices.  I’m sure it would be less if you use nuts, depending on the type of nuts.

Theoretically, you could make up several batches of this oatmeal mix a few days every week and store it in your pantry.  It would definitely save you both money and time, while also enhancing your healthy breakfast selections at home.

Notice that there’s no sugar listed here.  Our family is very cautious about sugar-intake, both for our physical health and for our mental health (see blog post about Dealing with Kids & Emotions).  White sugar really is a drug that can affect the brain and the whole body negatively.  If you eat enough fresh fruit every day, you won’t even want all of that sugar.

We use unsweetened applesauce as an alternative to sugar in our oatmeal and other recipes.

If you try my suggestions or have your own special way of preparing this dish in your own home, leave a comment.  I’d love to hear from you.