5 Days of Breakfast - Day 3

Here's the thing about Oatmeal; you either love it or you learn to tolerate it because it's good for you. It seems to be available almost everywhere these days from Starbucks to Jamba Juice, which tells me more of us just might be on the 'love it' side of the street. My oatmeal method is great for when you are really in a rush.

First of all, ditch the microwave. Unless you like standing there, face against the plastic, trying to prevent an oatmeal eruption. It is so much quicker and easier to make oatmeal with boiled water. So turn your tea kettle on, pour a package of plain, instant oatmeal in a bowl and go check your email.

Once the water is boiling, you can add as much or as little as you want depending on the consistency you prefer. Add at least a 1/4 Cup, drizzling in more as you need. Let the oatmeal stand for a minute or two, then stir and start adding in all the goodness.

Second tip, remember I said pour in a package of plain oatmeal? Ditch those flavored varieties that have unnecessary sugar and often weirdly rubbery dried fruit and just add your own stuff.
I like to sprinkle mine with about 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and then dashes of ground cloves, ground allspice and ground nutmeg. Next, I toss in a teaspoon or two of brown sugar or honey, a spoonful of flax seeds or chia seeds and some fruit. Here I used banana, but I've also tried it with different types of berries.
If the oatmeal is too hot or not quite creamy enough, just drizzle it all with a bit of any milk of your choice. I prefer Almond milk.

I love this meal for those winter mornings when you just can't quite get out of bed. It's warm and comforting and ready to eat in minutes.