One 30 day challenge I set for myself this month was to eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning.  Truthfully, it is not much of a challenge for me.  Over the years, I have developed an impressive oatmeal repertoire. When I first started my job at NC State, I had to get up so early to drive to the park and ride then catch the bus to campus that by the time I got to campus I needed second breakfast.  Since that heinous commute was driven by the fact that we couldn’t afford to move, second breakfast wasn’t really in the budget either.  The result, I learned to make my own instant oatmeal.

Why not just buy instant oatmeal?  Because it is disgusting.  The flavors are too artificial, too sweet, and it is just always slimy.

Once we moved to Durham, I developed a summer and winter oatmeal habit.  In the summer, I’d make overnight oatmeal in mason jars. In the winter, I’d make overnight oatmeal in the crockpot.  I’ve learned all the ins and outs of everything from quick cooking to steel cut oats, and have favorite combinations for each.  The only consistent thing is that they all require walnuts.

This winter my go to oatmeal is pretty simple: stove top Old Fashioned oats with brown sugar, cinnamon, craisins and walnuts.  Of course, as you might have guessed from my planner and organization fetish, it’s not really that simple.  Making my morning oatmeal is a detailed little ritual.  I’d hoped to share pictures with you, but my phone and email had other ideas. All I have is the pretty final product.

It’s hardly worth two posts, but maybe someday I will get the whole process here. For now, you can see I end up with a pretty, chewy bowl of yumminess in the morning.