Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets: Preparing for Baby

I love Quaker instant oatmeal packets.  I love them and yet I haven't bought them in years because they are so overpriced in my mind.  I can buy a large container of quick oats for $2.29 at my local Aldi and the Quaker packets I can't usually get any cheaper than $1.99 and that's when they are on sale.  So had the thought of making my own instant oatmeal packets and figured someone else out there probably already thought of this and could give me some pointers.

I found this website and decided to take her recipe and alter it a little to suit my needs.  Here's what you're going to need to make these:

I didn't want to use my whole container of oats, since I already did my big shopping trip, so I didn't do the full 10cups of oats.  Not to mention I don't eat oatmeal every day so I made 10 packets and used 5 cups of oats.

1st I measured out 5 cups quick oats.  I took 1 1/2 cups of the oats and pulsed it with my Magic Bullet.  Add the 1 1/2cups back in with the remaining 3 1/2 cups quick oats.  Then I added 1c non dairy dry coffee creamer (I purchased mine at walmart for $1), 1t salt, and mixed it all together.

I used the snack sized bags I found at the Dollar Tree and measured 1/2 cup of the oat/creamer/salt mixture into each one.  The recipe at the website above said to add the brown sugar in with the oats/creamer/salt but I chose not to do this because I was afraid there wouldn't be enough brown sugar in each baggie to satisfy me.  So instead I chose to add the brown sugar after I had the oat mixture all measured into the snack bags.  I used a regular cereal spoon and measured out about 2 of them into each bag.  I also always add cinnamon to my oatmeal so I gave a couple shakes of cinnamon to each bag as well.

Then just seal and shake the bag to mix up all the ingredients and you have your very own instant oatmeal packs.

I put all 10 of mine into a larger gallon size ziploc bag and used a piece of masking tape to tell how much water to add and how long to cook it in the microwave.

I'm so excited to have these ready to go for a quick breakfast after the baby is here.  I have also posted about the waffle mix, muffin mix, and pancake mix I use and have made multiple batches of in preparation for the baby.  You may be wondering why I have been stocking up on breakfast foods and not so much on dinner foods and the answer is simple.....When Grant was an infant I always forgot to eat breakfast because I was too involved in his eating habits, naps, and the daily household stuff and I didn't want that to happen this time.  Not to mention I have Grant now and I want some quick stuff so I don't have to put forth much energy to make his breakfast in the morning.


**UPDATE: It's been a little over a month since Eva was born and these oatmeal packets have been  so great to have in the pantry.  I already made a second batch because I eat them about every morning.  It's so simple to throw it into a bowl and nuke it for a couple minutes, I love it.  I keep frozen peaches and blueberries in my freezer and add a handful to each bowl for added flavor and nutrients.  Yummy!