Over the summer, I wrote about my favorite cold breakfast, overnight oats. Cold, creamy, fruity, and delicious, it continues to be my go-to make-ahead summer morning meal. But now the leaves on our trees are starting to change color, and I’ve moved from iced coffee to hot tea in the mornings. It’s time to replace my cold oats with some super fast, super hot oatmeal, customized exactly as I want it. Here’s how to make your autumn morning start off with a bowl full of hot goodness, guaranteed to warm you up and keep you going all morning.
1. Make your mix ahead of time.
To make your own dry instant oatmeal, mix quick cooking oats with oat flour and a bit of salt (rough ratio: 2/3rds oats to 1/3rd oat flour). You can make your own oat flour by simply pulsing oats in your food processor until they become a fine powder. Mix in brown sugar or regular sugar, cinnamon, and/or powdered milk if desired. Mix in any variety of freeze dried fruits, raisins, or nuts. Store the mix in an airtight container until you’re ready to eat.
2. Measure your mix, add water, and microwave.
When it’s time for breakfast, measure out about 1/2 cup of your instant oatmeal mix into your favorite microwave-safe bowl. Add 3/4 cup water and throw it in the microwave for about a minute, or until heated through. Stir and enjoy!
3. Add more!
If you want to beef up your oatmeal, add some additional chopped fresh fruit when it comes out of the microwave. Stir in some half and half for extra creamy flavor, or drizzle some maple syrup or honey to elevate your breakfast to the next level.
4. Package it up for travel.
If you make a large batch of dry oatmeal mix (say, 7 cups of oats mixed with 3 cups of oat flour), you’ll have plenty to eat at home for weeks, as well as leftovers to make into travel snacks. Put a half a cup of mix into individual Ziploc baggies and label them. Store the baggies in your pantry until needed.
