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I actually don’t even like oatmeal, but it’s a very easy “real food” meal that both of my daughters happen to LOVE. They love it so much that my 1st grader takes oatmeal to school as her snack every single day and my preschooler sometimes takes it as part of her lunch (in a Thermos to keep it warm). Apparently a lot of people use water to make their oatmeal, but our secret is milk. I feel the same way about hot chocolate, too. Forget the water…use milk! At the start of our budget pledge last year I tried making oatmeal with water as a cost saving measure and my 6-year-old would have nothing to do with it. I didn’t even tell her anything was different I just served it like I normally do, and she knew immediately that something was wrong. And she wouldn’t eat it either. So after more than a year of playing around and tweaking our oatmeal recipe just the way my kids like it I thought I would share.
Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk any variety will do but we use <a href="../2011/04/15/mini-pledge-week-6-no-low-fat-lite-or-nonfat-food-products/" data-mce-href="../2011/04/15/mini-pledge-week-6-no-low-fat-lite-or-nonfat-food-products/">whole milk</a> at our house
- 1/2 cup oats rolled (I get ours out of the bulk bins at Earth Fare)
- 1 dash cinnamon
- drizzle honey
- pure vanilla extract
- raisins (good with nuts on top, too)
Instructions
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In a small pot over high heat warm up the milk.
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As soon as the milk starts to bubble drop in the oats, stir once, and turn the heat down to low.
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Let the oats simmer for 2 – 3 minutes. You can stir it a couple times if you’d like.
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Once the oats have soaked up most of the milk add the vanilla, honey, cinnamon, raisins, and mix everything together. Take off the heat and serve or store for later in a Thermos.
Tip: My daughters like their oatmeal a little “soupy” so I usually try to catch it before all of the milk has been absorbed by the oats. You could also add a little extra cold milk at the end, which will help cool it down for little ones as well.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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My grandma makes the best porridge/oats in the world. I’ve said it since I was about 4 and I’ll continue to say it. I love oats, I’ve always tried to replicate Nanna’s recipe but being time poor before school made me want a recipe that was quick and didn’t require much washing up (ie no saucepan). After years of tweaking I perfected my perfect porridge recipe. I’ve been using it for quite a while now so here it is.
I’m a bit of a cheater and use quick oats (oats that are chopped really little) and cook in the microwave. I also use coconut milk, the one that comes in a carton in the long life milk section near the almond/oat/soy milks, not the one in a tin!
I think I use 1/3 cup quick oats, pinch of salt (grandma’s trick, it gives them a sort of softer texture and makes them taste ‘less raw’), and just enough coconut milk to *just* cover the oats, then I add a decent drizzle of honey and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, if it’s a bit dry add a splash of milk, then microwave for another minute.
Add some extra milk before serving and top with banana (extra honey if you’ve got a real sweet tooth).