Oatmeal

This morning while I was making the family oatmeal for breakfast, one of my kids asked why I didn't buy the packets of oatmeal that are flavored.  I told him making the kind on the stove let everyone flavor it the way they wanted and it was healthier.  

I know that the little packets cook in the microwave in one minute for one person but, I can make old fashioned oatmeal for the entire family on the stove with just 5 minutes of cook time. 

Old fashioned oats can also be flavored the way you want.  Although my hubby is a purist with just sugar in his, the kids love mix-ins.  Sometimes mixing in maple syrup and brown sugar, sometimes a spoonful of homemade jam, and sometimes even a few chocolate chips!  The possibilities are almost endless!

From a Mom view, old fashioned are healthier and cheaper.  After the discussion this morning, I popped by the grocery to grab a gallon of milk (we go through so much milk, we should own a cow!) and decided to look at the oatmeal aisle for a little comparison.  Although, I would always buy the biggest box of oatmeal because it is cheaper in volume, for this I tried to compare boxes that are closest in size.  In this case, I compared a box of 10 packets of flavored instant oatmeal and the smallest container of old fashioned oats.  I also compared Quaker because it can be bought in most places.  With oatmeal, I tend to buy Kroger brand, it's cheaper and just as good.

The instant packets were $2.74 for 10 packets ($.27/serving) and the oats were $3.19 for 13 servings ($.24/serving) it's not a huge difference but it is a difference.  The oats can also be used for cooking (cookies, meatloaf, etc) so you'll see even bigger savings if you buy the bigger container ($5.19 for 30 servings or $.17/serving).  

A huge thing I noticed was the sodium content, even I was surprised at it.  There was NO sodium in the old fashioned oatmeal.  In the flavored packets, in one serving there was 250 mg of sodium.  

I'm not saying my kids never eat the packets, but they are not a staple in our house.  I have found that sometimes the "convenience" foods don't really save you much more time than making things the old fashioned way.  They do, however, cost you more money.