Instant oatmeal is a healthy breakfast especially because it is rich in fiber, protein and iron. Make it with milk and you are adding extra calcium to your diet as well in addition to boosting its taste. You can top instant oatmeal with any of your favorite fruits. My family loves adding blueberries and raspberries. All that goodness will take you 2-3 minutes to prepare!
Oatmeal is whole-grain food that is packed with nutrients. In this recipe, we are using instant oats which are oat groats that have been steamed and flaked.
Be careful when picking a packet of instant oatmeal. Specifically watch the sugar and cholesterol on the nutrition label as some of the brands out there are high in sugar. In fact, when I am in a hurry and don’t have extra time to spice up plain oatmeal on my own, but yet the kids want oatmeal, I mix one packet of instant oatmeal brand I know the kids like the flavor of with 1 cup of plain rolled oats. That way the kids get what they want – a great, favorite flavor, and I get what I want – less sugar for them, and they actually eat it!
If you are on a gluten free diet, watch the label for brands that say the oats are gluten free. Naturally oats are gluten free, however, they can be processed in facilities along with wheat or other ingredients that can contaminate the oats. Usually, manufacturer will explicitly say if there are residuals in the oats (look at a disclaimer saying the facility processes wheat or some other gluten carrier). They will also say if their oats are gluten free on the packet. The good news is that you will spend extra time up front reading the label, but once the oatmeal makes it on your “preferred” list you no longer need to read the label when you buy it.
Instant Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 packet instant oatmeal
- 1/2 cup skim milk
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients
- Wash hands with soap and water. Check out our article about how to wash hands properly
Follow directions on the package similar to below
- Over medium heat, pour 1/2 cup milk into a pot
- Once the milk boils, add the instant oatmeal packet ingredients to it
- Stir oats into milk until you reached the texture you like (about 1-3 minutes)
- Optional: I add 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (along with an additional 1 cup of milk) to every flavored instant oatmeal packet I make.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The oats I try to use are gluten free. However, read careful on the manufactures' label to ensure the brand you are buying is gluten free. Although oats are naturally gluten free, sometimes there might be some gluten residuals in the oatmeal based on the facility the manufacturer uses.
- You can use water instead of milk. We use milk because it fortifies the oatmeal with calcium and other healthy nutrients
- You can use more or less liquid in your oatmeal depending on how you like its texture. I like the texture to be more running so I use 1/2 or more milk
- Another way to make the instant oatmeal is to bring the milk/water (liquid) to boil first, and then pour it into a bowl along with the instant oats and just stir (not having the milk and oats on the stove together boiling)
- You can also use the to make oatmeal. However, I stay away from the microwave as much as possible to try to keep my food healthier.
- We are extremely excited to announce we are now using the saferecipeguide.org guidelines to make our recipe safe-friendly. We will slowly be incorporating the safe recipe guidelines into our recipe instructions!
Nutrition
We strive to provide the most accurate information possible, however, it is at your own risk when you decide to use it. For example, the nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by our recipe plug in. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. If we list a recipe as a nut free, for instance, we do our best to check all ingredients for nuts via an application. However, it is your responsibility to double check our work prior using the information as there is always room for manual error on our part, or an error on the application we use.