The Great Oatmeal Adventure

Don’t you love those commercials that claim oatmeal will lower your cholesterol and is good for you? Well, I hope you paid attention…because it is so very true!! I know because my Daddy told me so about 40 years ago. Well, not the cholesterol part (who knew back then?), but the oatmeal is good for you part!!

He believed in a good breakfast ALWAYS…and we had oatmeal almost every day. All these years later, I still have oatmeal almost every morning after my meditative walk on the beach…

Shopping for Oatmeal

Who writes about shopping for oatmeal? Have you see the cereal shelves lately? They are crammed with all kinds of colorful boxes of sugary, a little less sugary and no sugar cereals. It’s a maze of selections for sure. As a mom, how do you choose?

What is the best for your family?

Hot or cold?

Back in the day (I love saying that) we didn’t have many choices…especially in my house. we ate what Paul or Betty said to eat…period! I don’t believe that is so true today and most families probably don’t even sit down to breakfast together…and if they do…it might look something like this…

My pre-shopping preparation is making a quick list of things.  I don’t often use coupons, but they are becoming more interesting in these times.

I am shopping at Walmart because I have three different things I am shopping for this trip…oatmeal, food for a barbeque and dessert and stuff for a craft project. I can get all of these and more at my Super Walmart. I don’t have to go to several stores. That’s a good thing.

Finding the Oatmeal

There are many hot cereal/oatmeal options at this store. Many choices from the Walmart Great Value line. I have tried it and it is pretty good and costs less than Quaker products.

But I chose my standard oatmeal…Quaker Quick Oats.

I chose it because I know it, know how it cooks and bakes, know what it tastes like and I can count on it every time.

There were some new things that caught my eye this trip…

The Quaker Mix-Up Creations. It seems that you can mix any two or more toppings, included in the box, for a new changes. Everything is there in one place. Great for busy, on the go families.

And, of course, I saw the grits. I love grits…southern girl that I am!!!

I also noticed that there are several different choices of oatmeal now…

lower sugar, high fiber and weight control.

My Usual Breakfast

oatmeal bowl with bananas or berries

Who says oatmeal has to be in a bowl for breakfast?

I would often serve my children one of these choices…

oatmeal raisin muffins

oatmeal bread

banana oatmeal pancakes

oatmeal cookies

Recipe

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Pancakes Makes 6 servings

Perfect start of the day for a weekend breakfast or brunch. These delicious pancakes are  smothered with bananas or berries and accented with oats.

• 2 cups regular Oats
• 2 cups Buttermilk
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup all-purpose Flour
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 T. ground Cinnamon

 

1. The night before, combine Oats and Buttermilk in a large bowl; blend well. Cover and refrigerate until the next day.
2. Next morning, add lightly beaten Eggs and Butter; stir just to blend.
3. In another bowl, stir together Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, and Salt; add to oat mixture and stir just until moistened.  If batter seems thick, add more buttermilk.
4. Preheat a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat; grease lightly.  Spoon about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake onto griddle.  Spread batter out to make 4 inch circles.
5. Cook until tops are bubbly and appear dry; turn and cook other side until browned.

Walmart and Quaker Breakfast Building Tool

I visited the Walmart website and found this Walmart/Quaker Breakfast Building Tool.

It is a great way to get your kids to help with grocery shopping and meal planning. You just drag a photo of your day into the planner space, click view your breakfasts and it creates a menu. You can click again to get a shopping list…how cool is that?

They also offer 2 PDFs – Build a Healthy Pantry and Heart Healthy Breakfast Ideas. Visit www.see.walmart.com/quaker to get started.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All ideas and opinions are 100% my own.

“Never let someone else determine God’s will for your life. No one else can understand God’s unique call on your life as clearly as you can.” — Ray Pritchard, Leadership Lessons of Jesus: A Timeless Model for Today’s Leaders