In the middle of winter, when the mercury's dropping and the snow is piling up outside, is there anything more comforting than a bowl of oatmeal? Judging from your answers last week, most of you agree with me. Plain old oatmeal becomes a tedious breakfast rather quickly, but the fancy flavored versions are pricey and full of artificial flavors. Thankfully, making your own gourmet oatmeal is easy. Flavored oatmeal makes a great gift for the busy professional, a time-strapped mom or anyone who says there's no time for a healthy breakfast. Stepfanie's Oatmeal Mix Ingredients 6 cups old-fashioned or steel-cut oats 3/4 c ground flax seeds 3 T cinnamon 1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries Mix all ingredients together. Makes 12 servings (about 3/4 cup each) Store in the refrigerator as flax seeds and walnuts can spoil quickly. Nutrition info Number of Servings: 12 Calories: 329 Total Fat: 15.3 g* (This is mostly heart-healthy fats from the walnuts and flaxseed, both of which contain Omega-3 fatty acids.) Cholesterol: 0.0 mg Sodium: 1.2 mg Total Carbs: 44.9 g Dietary Fiber: 8.8 g Protein: 8.9 g Directions Divide the oatmeal into single servings (1 cup food storage containers work great for this) or deliver the gift in a decorative cookie jar. Personalize this as you'd like. Swap almonds, pumpkin seeds or pecans for the walnuts; use raisins, dried pineapple or some apple rings instead of cranberries. If you prefer sweetened oatmeal: Add cocoa powder and a bit of sugar, toss in some brown sugar or give a bottle of real maple syrup to supplement the gift. You can also use barley, cracked wheat, wheat germ or oat bran. Bonus: Buy the materials for this oatmeal from the bulk bins at the grocery store to save more money. How do you top your oatmeal? |
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