Make Your Own Oatmeal Packets

I lament I don't have photos for this.  Maybe I'll go home and take some photos of the packets I made, then I can post them to show you.

I like oatmeal for breakfast on occasion.  Not the instant Quaker Oats kind of oatmeal, but the rich, steel-cut kind.  The stuff that tastes like anything but wallpaper paste.  Add some dried fruit, a dash of cinnamon and a spoonful of heavy cream, and it's a filling breakfast.  Perfect for cold mornings.

Anyway, I don't know of anyone who makes 'instant steel-cut oatmeal' packets, so I guess I'm stuck in making my own.  There's something really convenient about not having to measure stuff out in the morning.  Eyeball some hot water, add packet, mix and microwave.  Really easy.

There's a fellow who did the cost breakdown using regular oatmeal, which is helpful.  I think the steel-cut stuff is slightly pricier.  I don't remember how much a canister of instant steel-cut oatmeal cost at Trader Joe's, but it couldn't have been more than $5.00.  I bought a packet of their mixed fruit, which included golden raisins, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, and dried cherries ($3.99).  I already had cinnamon and cardamom at home, and I bought snack-size Ziploc baggies beforehand (not sure how much that cost, but I plan on reusing them, so. . . . ).

I think a canister of steel-cut oats from Trader Joe's is supposed to be like 17 or 18 servings, which ends up being about $0.53 a packet when it's all said and done.  Not bad for a tasty breakfast, and way cheaper (not to mention healthier) than anything I could buy for myself!  I guess I'm also not counting the cream or milk, but technically you don't have to add that.

Instant Steel-Cut Oatmeal Packets

• 1 canister of steel-cut oats from Trader Joe's (McCann's is also good, and I think Quaker also makes steel-cut oats)
• 1 8-10 oz bag of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots, whatever)
• Cinnamon
• Sugar (optional, I didn't add this but a lot of people like their oatmeal sweet)
• Cardamom (optional)
• Snack-size ziploc-style baggies

Put 2 TB (1/4 cup) of oatmeal in each baggie, until there is no more oatmeal left to dole out.  I think this turns out to be close to 20 baggies for the Trader Joe's oats.  The "number of servings per box" is probably a good number to start with.
Add 1 TB of dried fruit to each baggie.  If you have a little left over you can distribute the remaining fruit among all the baggies.  If you have a lot left over it's probably best to save for another time or use.
Add a big dash of cinnamon to each packet, and a little dash of cardamom.  If you like sugar you can add a tsp of sugar to each packet.
Seal up all the baggies, and you can store them in the canister they came in.

When you're ready to have oatmeal for breakfast, you can mix one packet with 3/4-1 cup of water (the recipe on the box says 3/4 cup, but you also need a little extra to rehydrate the fruit) in a deep bowl.  Microwave for two minutes, stir, and then microwave for 3 extra minutes.  You might have to recalibrate the recipe if you're using a different brand of steel-cut oat.  Let stand for one minute, then add cream or milk before serving.

I'm getting into backpacking, and the idea of packing my own delicious breakfast-away-from-home is really exciting to me.  I can just grab a couple packets, throw those in my bag, and go!