Homemade Instant Oatmeal

I know you're all probably tired of hearing me talk about making things yourself and knowing exactly what you're eating, but I'm going to do it again today. If you're over it, by all means, click on out. I'll see you next time. If not, continue reading, and find out how I've made over my morning oatmeal.

While instant oatmeal doesn't have the worst/longest/craziest ingredient list out there, I still feel that eliminating those mystery items is healthier for me. I recently bought my first can of steel cut oats. The last few grocery trips I've made, I've considered buying them. I've held them in my hand and ultimately put them back on the shelf, because who has time to wait 30 minutes for oatmeal to cook? Regardless, I finally bought some.

On Saturday morning, when I had plenty of time, I cooked the steel cut oats. I made a few extra servings, and I portioned them out into individual bowls for the rest of the week.

Here's where it gets instant. All I have to do in the morning is grab one of those bowls and microwave it for 1:40 (in my microwave). It's also really simple to duplicate some of the flavors from those instant packets. Maple brown sugar? Add a little pure maple syrup and brown sugar, just not too much! Apples and cinnamon? Mix in some applesauce and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bananas and cream? Mash a banana and mix it into the oatmeal - my personal favorite, and I don't even miss the "and cream" part. Blueberry? Add blueberries. You get the idea. Plus, for most of these, you're adding fresh fruit to your diet first thing, which is definitely better than whatever dehydrated mess is in those little packets.

If the fruit isn't sweetening the oatmeal enough for your taste, add a small amount of sugar, or Splenda, or Stevia, or whatever floats your boat.

And that, my friends, is what I've been eating for breakfast this week, and it has me feeling much better about my oatmeal. Now, what am I going to do with all my leftover instant packets?