Hello,
Try honey & cinnamon sugar
Bananas are cheap too!
Slice up a banana into small round slices.
Put a tablespoon of butter into a pan over medium heat.
Arrange the banana slices in the pan and caramelize them until they are golden brown.
Prepare the oatmeal per your preference.
Top the oatmeal with the bananas.
Drizzle with maple syrup.
You can also add chopped nuts.
I also like to make oatmeal with dried fruit and chopped nuts.
Well, I LOVE oatmeal, so I may not be the right person to ask... not sure.
First of all, to have super yummy oatmeal, I use the steel cut grouts. You can purchase this in the expensive form: McCann's Steel Cut Oats in a can, or the cheap way: in the bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods or at Sunflower. To make them the easy way, I boil the water and oats at night, and after bringing them to boil, turn off the burner and let them sit overnight on the stove. When you wake up, they are done, and need to be reheated.
Oatmeal is a great food, very wholesome and healthy. To improve on it, I add vanilla protien powder. This makes it more balanced, more healthy, and slightly sweeter. Then I add tons of variations on flavors. Cinnamon and nutmeg almost always. To add nuts, I always roast them first in the oven for a few minutes, THEN add to the oatmeal. Apples are good, but try the green granny smith ones. You can cook them with the oatmeal OR shred them on top for a more crisp and sweet flavor - it's also about texture after all. Raisins are also great in oatmeal - cooked. Raisins definitely benefit from getting hot with the oats. What about prunes? A great way to add sweets with iron too.
You can see I stay away from sugar, but the standbys are brown sugar, and maple syrup. Bananas are great in oatmeal too.
All of these suggestions can be added at once, or seperately, depending on your flavor desires.
Okay, where to begin? I am a crazy maniac about cooking on a budget. I only believe in cooking form scratch. I have a whole bunch of ideas for you but I really dislike typing in this mamasource site because it is really slow on my computer. Plus I have a presentation hand out I would love to give you. So if you would like to give me you real email address I really feel I can help you out.
Here is mine and feel free to email me off site
[email protected]
Good luck
Lori
I am in the process right now of making bread for my family that costs less than 45 cents for 3 loaves. And it is easy. Check out my blog for some of my recipes but I would really like to email you off site.
http://the7dayadventureist.blogspot.com/
I know it's not the healthiest but sometimes I add in peanut butter and chocolate chips...it is a great treat--the PB is good for added protein and the chocolate is good for making you smile!!
I was laid off for a while after having my baby and did a lot of research at libraries on budgeting and saving money. I found "America's Cheapest Family" by Steve Economides. It was pretty good, and the best advice I got from it was planning out your meals 1 or 2 weeks in advance. It gave great tips--such as soup for dinner one night a week, adding oatmeal to meatloaf, rice and beans are extremely inexpensive, baked potato with chili topping, etc. Good luck.
I know they say fresh is better but frozen is cheaper and lasts longer. Cream of Wheat is my favorite. I HATE oatmeal unless its in cookie form but try raisins with oatmeal?
I like to chop up a few peaches or pears that come out of a can or if you have home bottled ones. Then I pour in a little of the juice - makes the oatmeal sweater and you also get the chunks of fruit. Yum.
Well, I'm not really sure about a CHEAP way to make oatmeal yummy. I always put in a flavored coffee creamer, like irish cream or something like that, but those aren't very cheap. I have a few main dishes that are fairly cheap. One is broccoli casserole. I know, I know, not many kids like broccoli, but kids actually really love this. All you do is mix together some cooked broccoli, cream of chicken soup, sour cream and cheese. Put it in a casserole dish, and then sprinkle some cheddar flavored french onions, or some cheezit crackers. Or anything else that might be a little cheaper, but they aren't bad. Also, some stroganoff. Just brown some meat, and then you heat up some cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup and sourcream and milk with some spices, usually garlic powder and onion powder and salt and pepper. Stir that together and heat it up in a pot. Then you add some cooked macaroni noodles and the meat.
Have you thought about applying for a food stamp program? Or there's should also be something like a WIC program. I'm in Idaho, they might be called something different where you are, but I'm pretty sure most states has similar programs. Food Stamps (EBT card) is you get a card (like a credit card)and they give you so much money depending on your income and how many live in the home. And you can buy just about anything at the store. Just not already cooked things, like fried chicken from the deli. You can also use them at a Papa Murphey's not sure if you have one where you live. And WIC is a program for pregnant mothers, and infants. They give you vouchers, that buy you certain kinds of food, like milk and formula, cheese, juice, cereal, etc. You might look into that, at least until your husband can find something. Good luck! I'll keep you in my prayers.
My grandparents use a double broiler to make their oatmeal, and it has a WAY better texture. I keep meaning to buy one but haven't yet. That might help. Also try making it with milk instead of water or doing half water half milk.
My absolute favorite way to eat oatmeal is with peaches and some vanilla ice cream.
I also like it with brown sugar.
OK so if you don't like the texture...BAKED OATMEAL!!!
6 C oatmeal
2 C brown sugar If you add fruit you can cut back on the sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
2C milk
1 C butter or marge. (applesauce or mashed banana is good sub)
4 eggs
Add cut up fruit, about 1 C, if desired.
Put in greased 9x13 and bake for 40- 45 min
Easy to customize, really fool proof after you have made it a time or two.
My husband puts milk on a warm piece and eats it like oatmeal but I eat it like cake.
Try some brown sugar. Butter always helps too :) and make sure there's enough salt in it. (Boy it's getting more unhealthy by the second...)
I thin it with milk after cooking it. Everyone in my family likes a different amount of milk/different consistency so they put their own on it. Oatmeal is so good for you so a little sprucing up won't hurt!
Hi Susie,
When I make oatmeal, I usually add some butter, cinnamon, and a little Splenda brown sugar (so I still get the sweetness but not so much sugar). I also add raisins and dried cranberries.
You could also experiment with adding maple syrup or honey, and I've occasionally added a teaspoon of preserves which really sweetens it up and makes it yummy. Additionally, you can try buying some of those expensive fruits (like raspberries and blueberries) but you can buy the frozen variety and just heat them up when you're ready - much less expensive and very delicious.
Good luck!
Warmly,
Shelley
I'm a huge fan of the Quaker cinnamon roll oatmeal. I know its probably really hard to think about, but if you can subscribe to the sunday paper in your area and clip coupons- you will save SO MUCH MONEY. It takes some practice and getting used to, but the $30/yr I pay for just the sunday paper saves me about $2-300/yr. I can get a box of instant packaged oatmeal for around 50-75 cents.
Onto cheap meals. This taco soup is mainly canned goods, so its awesome for the winter. MOst of the ingredients go on sale for around 50 cents making it pretty cheap. It has a lb of ground beef, but you can always leave that out. My family loves it and its packed with protein!
Here it is:
Taco Soup
1 lb of ground beef, browned
1 can chili
1 can of corn(my family uses 2)
1 can tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Ro-Tel(or you could do an extra can of diced tomatoes+one can green chiles)
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can vegetable soup
1 can black beans(my family uses 2)
1 pkg Taco seasoning(I use the less sodium kind)
Mix everything in the crock pot and let it cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Stir occassionally.
You can serve this with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, or by itself. It makes for great leftovers too! Beware though, my crockpot is that large one and its FULL like within an inch. I've also used ground turkey for the meat.
I hope this helps!!
Don't over-cook the oatmeal. Put brown sugar in the bowl before you add the oatmeal, and I like some maple flavoring as well ("imitation maple extract" is cheeper than "pure maple syrup). If you don't like oatmeal, try creamy wheat or cracked wheat. Still inexpensive, and its a different consistancy so you may really prefer it.
Money is tight for us too. We make bread from scratch, we rely on powdered milk when we run out of real milk (my kids will use it on cereal and sometimes even drink it!!). Ramen is inexpensive, but not too nutritionally sound. Carrots, apples, and bananas tend to be a bit less.
Also, I would suggest that you get some assistance. WIC is a great program for expectant and nursing moms and kids under 5 - it will provide milk, eggs, carrots, tuna, beans, and peanut butter, plus formula if you don't nurse. And you may qualify for food stamps. Your church may also be able to help. I know that the lasting thing you probably want is to be supported for someone else - I feel the same way. But for the sake of my kids, I have had to swallow my pride and accept some help.
YOu should qualify for food assistance. Costco just started taking food stamps (The Horizon card in Utah) As for Oatmeal recipes, my favorite is uncooked oats with milk, cinnamon and sugar, sometimes I add a little peanut butter. When I was young my brothers introduced me to this. They called it Oatmeal Junk, I loved it and still eat it.
The instant oatmeal is so yummy b/c it contains TONS of sugar. For a stovetop alternative, I use whole oats, not quick oats. It still only takes 10 minutes and doesn't get slimy and thick. I add a little bit of white sugar, imitation vanilla or almond extract, and cinnamon and raisins. I find the white sugar is slightly sweeter than the brown sugar, and the flavored extract adds sweetness and flavor without so much sugar. The trick is to keep enough water in it so that it doesn't get too thick and gooey. Oh, and my son loves a dab of blue or green food coloring to make it exciting. It's yummy and it's super cheap! I buy the big Quaker buckets or in bulk to save $$.
Instant flavored oatmeal tastes so good because it's full of sugar and artificial flavors. It's also dyed to make the fruit look bright. It may taste good, but it's terrible for you, especially for breakfast. When all that sugar hits an empty stomach, your blood sugar spikes up, then it crashes terribly. My first recommendation is to try to get some kind of protein at breakfast instead of just carbohydrates. Protein helps your body use energy slowly, rather than getting a spike in your blood sugar followed by a crash.
The key to the texture of oatmeal is what kind of oats you use. Steel cut oats have the fullest texture, kind of chewy and really delicious. They take a LOOOOONG time to cook, though. Traditional Quaker (rolled?) oats are what most people get. I think they are gross. Because they are rolled out, they cook the fastest, but they are also kind of clumpy and gummy. What I like is the Thick and Rough oatmeal. It cooks faster than steel cut oats, and it tastes WAAAY better than traditional Quaker oats. I buy ours at our local grocery, but Costco also has them, and they would probably be cheaper in bulk. We buy dried fruit from the bulk section at the local health food store and put some in at the beginning of cooking. I also use half milk and half water for cooking it, which gives it a yummy creamy flavor. Finally, I add brown sugar for sweetness. It's delicious - even my 2 & 5 year olds love it.
Best of luck,
Sarah
I understand your dislike of oatmeal. I grew up having to eat it for breakfast every morning. What started out as a love for oatmeal eventually became an aversion as I remembered bowl after bowl of bland, sticky gunk flavored only with a bit of honey. Then I became a mom and decided to make some changes. :)
My family prefers steel-cut oats, which you can by on sale in bulk fairly inexpensively, and it seems to go farther for some reason. I find that Sunflower Market has great sales on their bulk oats (quick, reg, and steel-cut) if you watch for it. The last time we got organic steel-cut for 43 cents a pound.
Then, what our favorite has become is: enough molasses to give it a nice golden-dark color (this just seems to give it the right flavor as well), cinnamon to taste and a bit of vanilla.
Molasses goes on sale about this time of year, so if your kids like the taste you can stock up in that. Grandma's brand is so much richer than Bre'r Rabbit brand so you use a lot less, even though it is initially more expensive. Cinnamon can also be bought in bulk more cheaply than the smaller cans.
Do you use milk or cream on your oatmeal after that? My husband was feeding my daughter the packaged oatmeal without milk on it, and it would always find a hardened wallpaper-paste-like gunk in her bowl afterward that she hadn't eaten. I couldn't figure out what was going on until she told me "Daddy doesn't make it like you." I felt terrible that so much had gone to waste, and the pre-packaged kind at that! All you need is about a tablespoon or so to break up that gumminess.
Now I make the oatmeal ahead of time in a bigger batch and put it in the fridge so all my husband has to do is put the right amount in a bowl and heat it up. As easy as the packets but much more affordable.
I know I only offered you one idea, but hopefully it will give you ideas. One idea may be to watch the bulk dried fruits aisle for sales. I empathize with you about that expense and the fact that kids just LOVE fruit. Raisins were one of my childhood favorites but they seem so pricey now.
I wish you the best. The other women here are extremely smart and resourceful so I'm sure you'll get some other wonderful ideas.
We eat a lot of oatmeal in out house and I've always added strawberry preserves to give it some flavor. My kids seem to really like it.
First off, make your oatmeal with milk, not water--that will make it taste MUCH better!
My kids and I like to mash a banana into our oatmeal. The banana sweetens and flavors the oatmeal so that you don't even need sugar. Add the banana after cooking the oats.
We also like diced apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
Buy a cheap can of peaches (coffee can size! from Costco or the grocery store) drain them, lay them out on a waxed-paper lined cookie sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, remove from the pan, put in a bag, and return to freezer. (You can use these peaches in smoothies, desserts, oatmeal...anything!) Add diced peaches, a bit of brown sugar, and cinnamon to cooked oatmeal. Tastes like peach pie or peach crisp...yummy, and good for you!
For the really lazy mornings, plain brown sugar is good.
Out of laziness, I usually make it in the microwave (just use a tall bowl because the milk will make the oatmeal puff/boil up while cooking) but my husband makes it on the stovetop. I must admit, his is usually better!
On another note...have you looked into WIC (women, infants, and children)? It's a great income-based program where you get checks for free milk, cereal, peanut butter, juice, cheese, eggs, etc. While nursing you get tuna and carrots, too. I just read that they have expanded the program so that you will soon be able to receive fresh fruits and veggies, too.