Homemade Oatmeal....What the Commercials Don't Tell You.

I grew up eating those little packets of oatmeal.  You know, the kind where you open the packet into a bowl and then add boiling water.  They were really yummy and easy, and at the time, it was how I thought oatmeal was made.  As I got older, I thought that making "real" oatmeal was a time-consuming task....standing over a hot stove and constantly stirring the oats for a long time.  NOT SO!  

It is the best kept secret, if you ask me, that homemade oatmeal is so darn easy.  It really only takes 5 short minutes, and you don't have to have any questionable ingredients in your child's breakfast.  

Honestly, people, if the label contains ingredients that you don't know, don't buy it!  

It's as simple as that, and so is homemade oatmeal.

Oats are always on my counter, at the ready, for a quick breakfast or snack.

Here is what you'll need:  Organic oats (bought in bulk at any natural foods store) and water.
Seriously, that is all that you need.  We like to jazz things up a bit with some organic raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a little rice milk.  But oats and water are all that you really need.

Our oatmeal ingredients posing for a picture:  organic raisins (bought in bulk), organic oats, organic cinnamon, rice milk, and organic brown sugar.  

Take some oats and put them into a saucepan.  I don't ever measure how much I use.  Here I am using a measuring spoon just as a scoop.  Just know that a little bit of oats goes a long way to making a large bowl of oatmeal.

 Here's what the oats should like after you add the water.  They should be floating in water.  Less water equals thicker oatmeal, but too much water can always be cooked off.  You really can't go wrong.  If you find that it gets too thick, add a bit more water during the cooking process.  You can also use a non-dairy milk in place of your water, but I just like to add a splash in our bowls.

Soupy looking oats ready to go onto the burner.

 Put the saucepan on a medium-high heat and stir a bit.  Keep a watch on them.  They are seriously done in about 5 minutes, depending on how you like them.

Maddie's bowl of half-eaten oatmeal.  

That's it.....easy as can be!  Top it off with anything and everything!  Add chopped nuts, shredded coconut, a dallop of a nut or seed butter, dried fruit, fresh fruit.....anything goes!

Enjoy! And don't forget to laugh at those commercials that make us think we need to buy "instant" oatmeal.  You now know better!