We are back to eating oatmeal made from old-fashioned oats since the budget crashed.  So much for all those time-saving, frozen items you pop in the toaster.  They were too calories with the added butter spreads and syrup, and without the fiber we are now getting.  We ate oatmeal before but had gotten out of the habit because of the convenient of packaged cold cereals.

We never ate oatmeal from those little microwavable packages, and this is the first item I would suggest you eliminate if you are trying to save money.  You can pride yourself in going green by wasting less resources on all those individual packages, and you will be saving quite a bit of money over time.  Cooking the oatmeal on the stove does not take that long, and you can make it a very tasty item by adding some fruit or nuts and flavorings.

My basic is to put about a quarter cup of raisins in the water as I put it on the stove.  This allows the raisins to cook while the water comes to a boil. Other good additions to cook with oatmeal, or any other hot cereal, are dates and apples.  Do not use fruits with higher acid content because the milk will curdle when you add it, and especially when you reheat it  in the microwave.  The taste will be okay, but it looks a little unsightly, and children are likely to be bothered by it. I have not tried soy milk with these more acidic fruits to see if the result is the same.

Other flavors can be added after cooking.  Put a banana in a bowl of oatmeal, or split it between 2 or 3 bowls of oatmeal for a delicious breakfast.  Another way to add flavor is by adding cinnamon or maple syrup.

Leftover oatmeal can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated the next day.

Using the old-fashioned or rolled oats takes longer but provides a greater taste with texture, plus more fiber that helps keep blood sugar levels from spiking and helps provide a water-soluble fiber source for absorbing cholesterol.

Ingredients

• Oatmeal (Read the box for amounts of oatmeal and water needed to make the number of servings you wish to make.)
• 1/4 cup of raisins or other fruit
• Water

Method

Cook raisins and oatmeal until done, and serve with milk.  Adding a banana to a bowl of oatmeal makes it taste really delicious; so simple and basic, but such a great way to start the morning.