DIY Fancy Oatmeal

by Maura

I'm a sucker for quick, fancy oatmeal at places like Starbucks, McDonalds, and other fast food places. It is a quick, easy, delicious and low-calorie breakfast for those who are short on time. I do, however, object to paying for a breakfast that I can make at home for pennies on the dollar. And I'm going to share my secrets with you!

First, gather your ingredients. Dried fruit, instant oatmeal, and nuts of your choice. I use walnuts, but almonds would be equally delicious. I also chose dried cranberries and a dried fruit mix from Trader Joe's.

I put about 2 tablespoons of each in a baggie, one for each day of the week. Complicated, I know, but you can handle it.

If I have plain oatmeal, I will add a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. To bring it to the Full Time Fancy level, I add chopped up apple. It is so good! Sweet and crunchy. Beware, however, that you need to chop the apple daily or it gets mealy mixed in with the other ingredients.

At school, I have some paper bowls and spoons. I used to use a regular bowl and spoon, but oatmeal is a pain to wash off of dishes, so I broke down and bought the disposable dishes.

And there it is. My super easy, super cheap breakfast of champions.

What do you eat for breakfast on the go?

Comments

[Darcey]

I, too, am a fan of oatmeal in the morning. I usually try to build in the 5 minutes extra to make it at home and eat it on the way to work. My tricks to amping up instant oatmeal:
- When using water to make it, add a splash of heavy cream (or coffee creamer, in a pinch); adds a bit of luxury to it
- Spoonful of apple/pumpkin/cranberry butter from Trader Joe's; just enough extra flavor to take away the "instant-ness" of it

[shin ae]

I like the idea of adding apple butter to oatmeal.

I also eat oatmeal, and my additions are about a tablespoonful of chia seeds and about the same amount of ground flaxseeds. I stir frozen blueberries into the very hot oatmeal so they melt but don't get squishy, then drizzle a little maple syrup on the top.