Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Just Add Water!

By

Thank you so much for the kind compliments about my new haircut! You are all too sweet!

I am thanking you by giving you a healthy, inexpensive recipe that any traveler is sure to enjoy.

Instant Oats! 

When I make myself oatmeal at home, I use organic rolled oats from the bulk aisle of my grocery store. Each pound of oats costs $1.99, which works out to be about 17 cents per 1/4 cup serving. 

Compare that 17 cents of organic, high-quality oatmeal to the $3.00 instant quaker oatmeal pack that works out to be 38 cents per serving. 

So…you save money by making your own, and you can add the ingredients you want without all that added sugar. Quaker’s flavored instant oats all have around 10 grams of extra refined, white sugar per serving. Check out the ingredients in their Peaches’n’Cream Oatmeal:
“WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, CREAMING AGENT (MALTODEXTRIN, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL**, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, WHEY, SODIUM CASEINATE, SUGAR, DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, ARTIFICIAL COLOR, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), FLAVORED AND COLORED FRUIT PIECES (DEHYDRATED APPLES [TREATED WITH SODIUM SULFITE TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION], ARTIFICIAL PEACH FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, ANNATTO COLOR), SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GUAR GUM, OAT FLOUR, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, NIACINAMIDE*, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, FOLIC ACID*.”

Sugar is the second ingredient on the 33 ingredient-long list. Thirty-three ingredients? Why can’t we have Peaches’n’Cream Oatmeal with only three ingredients: peaches, cream, and oats? This is nuts! I can’t even pronounce half of these ingredients and preservatives, and why in the world do we need to eat partially hydrogenated soybean oil?
Homemade Instant Oats
~You may add whatever ingredients you like to the mix, but here is the basic recipe. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free! 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound rolled oats, gluten-free if needed
  • Optional: dried fruit, nuts, chia, flax, or other grains
Place your oats (and other grains and spices, if using) in a blender and pulse/blend until smooth. The thinner the oats, the thicker the cereal. Add dried fruit and nuts, if using.
Store in a jar or measure them out into 1/4 cup servings in individual baggies for easy on-the-go use.
To eat, simply add hot water and stir until it thickens. Add about equal amounts of water per dry mix. Of course, you may adjust this if you like a thinner or thicker oatmeal.
The dry…Cinnamon, raisins, and pecan oatmeal.
Just add water, stir, and enjoy!
When I was in DC last week, I brought along Eco-Planet gluten-free hot cereal because I knew my hotel’s breakfasts were too expensive. I thoroughly enjoyed the cereal, but it was more expensive than making my own instant oats. Thus the idea to create my own instant oats was born! I can’t wait to experiment with this recipe! Some of my ideas include:
  • Mixing grains by adding rice flour, millet, quinoa, or buckwheat
  • Homestyle Oats: raisins, cinnamon, and walnuts
  • Apple Crisp: dried apple bits, cinnamon, nutmeg, and almond pieces
  • Double Chocolate: cocoa powder and cacao nibs
  • Strawberries and Cream: vanilla bean and dried strawberries
  • Trail-mix: Add as many nuts and dried fruit pieces I can!
  • Chocolate-Peanut Butter: Peanuts and cocoa powder
Now you can bring your own instant oats whenever you are traveling! Almost every hotel has a coffee maker in the room now, so you can heat up your water and dump a bag of your own instant oats in a to-go mug. You can even make coffee-flavored oatmeal by adding coffee into the oats!
In a paper to-go coffee cup. I am ready to travel (and eat oatmeal!)
Now there is no excuse to eat unhealthy food on the road 😉

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

When you are on the road, do you usually bring your own food or eat out at restaurants? What do you bring? What restaurants do you go to?

I do a mix of both. I try to bring as much food as I can, but I supplement with food at restaurants. I try to eat as many veggies as I can while on the road, and I stay away from refined flours, breads, fried foods, and sugar, of course!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. What a great idea! I do some travelling for work and always pack “my kind” of food for snacks but always rely on those expensive and high calorie hotel breakfasts; but I’m going to give your oatmeal idea try!

    Thanks so much for sharing.

  2. 33 ingredients… ugh… it makes me want to cry?! I love the idea of bringing a jar of oats with you on vacation – add water, and GO! That would have been soo valuable for me when we were in Jamaica. Because of my gluten allergy I bring 1 suitcase of food (including my vitamix) and 1 suitcase with clothes. Oats would be a perfect addition!

  3. What a great idea! I usually just go for the plain instant oats at hotels, but making my own flavored kinds would be way better.

    I do a mix of both too. Usually I bring snacks and a meal or two to eat on the road the day I leave, and eat at restaurants or hotels otherwise.

  7. Oh goodness, I pack so many snacks when I’m traveling that I never even NEED to stop! I do like to experience local flavors and restaurants when I’m visiting a new place, but during the “travel time” (in the car, on the plane) I try to feed myself (and save money).

  8. I’m all about bringing my own food. I love to try new things & I’ll sample ALL of the regional dishes (I chowed down on guinea pig in Peru) but I like to eat simple & extremely healthy when it comes to my actual meals.

  10. whoa whoa there! this is genius!! so creative and convenient! I usually bring my own snacks, and for meals I usually eat out when I’m out and about 🙂

  11. Can’t wait to try this out! I love new types of oats and this sounds perfect for when I am on the go! Just wondering….would a 1/2 cup of these oats be the same nutritionally as a 1/2 cup of ungrinded rolled oats!?

  12. Yes we usually bring your own food when traveling we have done it for many years now! So it is really easy for us to pack a mix of food and travel with not much problems. And plus we always try to look up a Wholefoods or health food store for any extra goodies to have on hand.
    BTW love the haircut sorry we have been MIA lately!!

  13. Great post! Who says healthy food has to be expensive? It’s great to show that healthy food can be cheaper than unhealthy food! I’m disgusted at all the ingredients in the Quaker instant oatmeal, so unnecessary!

  14. I LOVE quick oats. They only cost 50 cents a pound at this little fruit and veg shop the next town over. And the organic ones are only a buck a pound about. Just thinking of eating that quaker crap makes me feel sick.
    Now I’m tempted to make oat flour and just cook it up how I would normal oats… I bet it’d be super creamy 😀

  15. Amen to this!
    Plus they also make plain instant packs available in some stores. Instant in a pack. No added junk.
    No excuses!

    And heck, pack all you want, order off the menu, get a fridge in your hotel…its all about being anti-SAD (Standard American Diet) which leads to health problems (and you know this) it is just so great to see a young girl like you leading by example.

  16. Alex, you are GENIUS!!!! What a perfect traveling breakfast!!!! In the next couple of weeks, I will be SUPER BUSY!!!! Like, I am not kidding you with how busy I will be. So this was perfect timing girl!!! 😀

    YIKES! 33 ingredients! I agree with you — 3 sounds like the perfect amount it should be. 🙂

  17. 😀 I wanted to write exactly the same as the previous commenter did, before I saw her comment. So Alex, you are genious! And you’re so kind as your comments make me smile 🙂 I already made pistacchio butter and I recommended your blog post to a fellow blogger.
    33 ingredients in instant oats, unbelievable. And still so many people buy them because they are not yet willing to experiment in their own kitchen.

  18. Yes, this is great! I am always so surprised that the store’s instant oatmeal is so packed full of CRAZY INGREDIENTS.

  19. Wow–this sounds so cool! And perfect timing because I leave for vacation in a few days. I might just have to try this. And I concur–why on earth can’t foods sold in the store just be what they say they are? Why all the added preservatives and unpronouncable crap? lol Our ancestors got along just fine eating foods without adding chemicals.

  20. Excellent idea! This is great for kids too. They can make their own quick oats and have them on “the quick” when a rushed morning comes along. Thanks!

    • Yes! It would be a wonderful meal for any kid on-the-go. It’s also great because they can be involved in the process and learn more about healthy food choices that way-and make there favorite flavors! Individualized oatmeal 🙂 YAY!

  21. Hey there, just found your blog, i bookmarked it, I’ll be back to visit 🙂 Have you ever tried vegan overnight oats? I haven’t had cooked oatmeal since! They are soo good 🙂

    • Hi Michele!

      I’m so glad you found my blog 🙂 And yes, I have tried overnight oats before! I make them a lot when I know I’ll be in a hurry the next day. Summer is coming up so I will probably start eating it more often (cold oats taste so much better on a hot day than hot oats).

  22. Brilliant idea – and I really appreciate what you’re doing here, and that you made this point about buying bulk oats. People need to understand that those little packets of Quaker sugary oats are a big rip off and that people are throwing away money. I understand that healthy food tends to cost more but that isn’t the case with oats!

    Why pay more for less quality, diminished flavor, and less nutritional richness?

    Great post. Oh! And thank you for visiting my page! It means a lot 🙂

  23. I love this post. I am a total supporter of homemade anything and if that means a “replacement” for something else, like quick oats, then heck yes, tell me more!

    Thanks for an easy, delicious, HEALTHY, unprocessed replacement for everyone’s favorite breakfast 😉

  24. What a great idea Alex! Always good to have a go-to plan for breakfast when traveling! And so much better than most other “quick” alternatives!

    I haven’t had instant oats in a while now…I started buying the low-sugar versions, but then, as my diet/tastes changed, even those were just TOO sweet! I can’t believe there’s partially hydrogenated oil in them! Craziness!

  25. It, quaker 2 min oats claims to have powdered milk in, would it be better to add some to the mixture?

    • Hi Dennis,

      I don’t eat dairy, so I did not add any. If you would like to add some powdered milk, feel free. It will probably give the oats a more creamy taste. If you’d like to stay away from dairy, try adding some powdered coconut milk.