Frugal Food: Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

There's nothing fancy or extravagant here.  No real traditions to elaborate on.  Just the need for a quick and easy hot breakfast.

In Dr. S's family growing up, his mom set out boxes of cold cereal and instant oatmeal packets on Sunday mornings for breakfast.  It was a "help yourself" breakfast one day out of the week when much of Mom's time was taken getting other things (and children!) ready for church.

As a busy mama myself, I liked the sound of that.  We tried the cold cereal thing for awhile.  The tricky thing was, since I cook a hot breakfast on most days (yes, my family is a little spoiled) the kids didn't really want to have anything to do with cold cereal.  So then they were hungry and CRANKY at church.  Bad combination for reverence.  Also, with four kids under the age of six, cold cereal isn't usually the option that produces the least mess.

So we tried instant oatmeal packets--the ones from the store.  I kept it simple and got all maple and brown sugar so there wouldn't be any fights over flavors.  For our family, this was a great solution.  Sunday morning breakfasts became quick and easy, and our kids really love oatmeal, so their bellies were full for church.  

Since I try to pinch pennies wherever I can, I soon realized the instant oatmeal packets were not the most economical way to eat oatmeal, so I got to work making my own.  It's very simple.

Start by mixing together all the ingredients.  One of the ingredients is oat flour, which is just ground oatmeal.  I used steel cut oats in my grain mill, but you can also use a powerful blender or food processor to do small amounts (1/2 cup at a time) of rolled or quick oats.  It doesn't have to be perfect!

You can store this in an airtight container just like it is--just give it a little shake before scooping out your morning oatmeal.  In our family, part of the appeal for our kids was opening their own little packet and dumping it in the bowl.  So I went ahead and made them.  One serving is a generous 1/2 cup full.

Just dump one serving in a bag and seal.  I used snack bags, which were the perfect size.

To serve, dump out contents of the bag into a bowl.

Add 3/4 cup boiling water.

Give it a stir.

It starts to thicken after just a couple minutes, but to get it good and porridge-like, give it closer to ten.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

adapted from Heavenly Homemakers

4 cups oat flour (grind quick or rolled oats 1/2 cup at a time in blender or food processor)

8 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups sugar (white or brown)

1/2 tsp salt

other optional mix-ins:

1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit (freeze dried re-hydrates best)

1 tsp sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, pumpkin pie spice--any combination)

3 cups milk powder

1 cup chocolate chips (or cinnamon, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc)

1 cup finely chopped nuts

Get creative!  But go ahead and put the mix-ins in your packets now, to keep them instant when the time comes to serve!

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well.  Scoop heaping 1/2 cupfuls into snack bags and seal shut.  Alternatively, store mixture in airtight container, but shake or mix before scooping.  When ready to serve, dump contents of packet into cereal bowl.  Add 3/4 cup boiling water.  Stir.  Wait 5-10 minutes to allow oatmeal to thicken.