
Now this change of heart lead to the purchase of lots of boxes of instant oatmeal, with hubby's excuse being that he's "taking care of my heart". But my heart was aching seeing all this excess packing in the recycle box, not to mention that even on sale, just how much more expensive this is then homemade oatmeal, and the sugar and extra ingredients in these little packages is a little too much than my liking. Not want to squash this new love for oatmeal in the family I looked to Pinterest. I knew there was a solution. Homemade Instant Oatmeal!
Looking on Pinterest there are lots of pins for homemade instant oatmeal. I tried one that added flour, thinking it would give that creamy texture, but it didn't go over well with my gang. You can add dried milk if you'd like, but didn't really notice a difference with that. I discovered while the kids do like cinnamon, they like a little while hubby likes a lot. In the end, it really is an embarrassingly simple solution... it's homemade oatmeal but not cooked in a pot.
Next thing to solve was the dino eggs that the kids love so much. They like to dig them out before the hot water is added and see who had the most. Too me these eggs are just excess sugar and junk in our food brought on by good marketing. Once in a while is a treat, but every morning is unwise. I think I came up with a much better option; yogurt covered peanuts (my kids don't like raisins) and the kids seem to like them even better than the dino eggs. Another win-win.
So now we have our own homemade version of Instant Oatmeal, listed below, so easy even hubby makes it. I make up the mix in a container and then in the morning all that is needed is a half cup of the mix, enough hot water to your liking and top with "dino eggs" or more cinnamon and the family thinks they are getting something so much better than homemade oatmeal. Some have even asked if they could have it for lunch at school. Crazy isn't it. I tell ya, it's all in the marketing.
Homemade Instant Oatmeal - Cook House Style
4 cups oatmeal (I used the quick oatmeal but whole should work too.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix this up in a container to store.