"Better" Oatmeal

My boys favorite thing for breakfast, hands down, has to be oatmeal. We would go through a couple boxes a month of the Quaker packets. But as I was trying to eliminate the "pre-fabbed" foods from our diet, I though there had to be a better (and cheaper!) way to give them this for breakfast. After comparing at the store, I noticed a box of 10 packets was about the same price as a giant canister of oats, so it had to be cheaper to make my own. So I searched through some of my go-to sites for recipes, and found a super simple way to make a sweetened instant oatmeal that I thought they might work. I was a little worried they might not like it, that maybe they were too accustomed to the Quaker packets, but they gobbled this stuff right up!! Now, the minute I take the canister out of the cabinet, Logan is trying to climb in his booster chair, because he can't wait to eat it!

This is one of the easiest switches we have made. It takes me maybe 5 minutes to whip up a double batch of this recipe, and it lasts us a little over a month. And after that, it's the same convenience as the Quaker packets.

Plus, after comparing the costs, this homemade version is about half the price of the Quaker packets, and is better for you!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
(recipe adapted from: A Few Short Cuts)

I get about 10 servings out of a batch.

Ingredients:
- 3 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions:
1. In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of the oats until they form a powder.
2. Mix oat powder, whole oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon
3. I put mine in a small, pourable container (you could also put them in small Ziplock bags, to make little "packets")

To prepare:
1. Measure out 1/3 cup of the oatmeal mixture into a bowl
2. Add 1/3 cup warm milk (you can use more or less, depending if you want it thicker or thinner. You can also use water instead of milk)
3. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 144 (16 less) Fat: 2 g (1 g less), Carbs: 28 g (4 g less), Protein: 4 g (same)
(Comparisons are to Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar or Cinnamon Spice Packets)

Price Comparison:
This recipe: $0.16/serving
Quaker packets: $0.30/serving
SAVINGS: $0.14/serving (nearly half!)