Ways to Make Oatmeal More Flavorful and Fun

Oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, if you mix and match the cooking liquid, add-ins, and toppings you can come up with a new oatmeal combination almost every day. You could nerd-out and make a chart or figure out how many combinations there are…but this isn’t Math Class, this is breakfast. Cook your oatmeal as you normally would, either on the stove top or in the microwave but use the variations below to really make it special!

Cooking Liquids

You don’t have to use boring old water every time you make oatmeal. Picking the right liquid might be all you need to make your breakfast more exciting while not losing any of the health benefits of oatmeal. For instance, you can try:

• 1% Milk (this will make a creamier variety of oatmeal, so you might need to use a bit more milk that you would use milk)
• 2% Milk
• 3% Milk (ok, they don’t actually sell this and no combining the first two doesn’t create 3% Milk)
• Whole Milk
• Almond Milk
• Flavored Almond Milk
• Juice
  • Apple works great, including pretty much any of the variations of sugar content
  • Cranberry is a different twist
  • Grape makes for a funny color for your breakfast oatmeal, but it it quite tasty

Add-Ins

It’s a breeze to throw stuff into your oatmeal. For the most part, I add after the cooking process. It’s easier and you don’t burn your tongue on a sweet add-in that got over-zapped by the microwave. Some things you can throw in your oatmeal are:

• Dried Fruits
  • Raisins
  • Craisins
  • Dried Pineapple
  • Dried Prunes (let’s be serious, only old people do this, but they do taste pretty good…oops gave away my age there, didn’t I?)
  • Dried Apricots
  • Dried Dates
  • Dried Figs (then you can sing make it a figgy pudding and drive your roommates crazy!)
  • Dried Peaches
  • Dried Pears
• Fresh Fruit
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
• Nut Butters
  • Peanut butter
  • Cashew butter
  • Almond butter
• Fruit Butters
  • Apple butter
  • Pumpkin butter
• Jellies, Jams, Preserves
  • Mint (this is actually kind of gross, but to each his own)
  • Strawberry
  • Blackberry
  • Boysenberry
  • Gooseberry
  • Grape
  • Mango
  • Red Plum
  • Apple
  • Apricot
  • Apricot-Pineapple
  • Cherry
  • Peach
  • Orange Marmalade (because citrus fruits are made into marmalade, betcha you didn’t know that, did you?)
• Baking Extracts
  • Almond Extract
  • Orange Extract
  • Almond Extract
  • Rootbeer Extract (yeah this one is weird, but we’re all about variety here)
  • Pistachio Extract
  • Brandy Extract (just don’t let anybody smell your breath or you’ll be accused of drinking your breakfast)
  • Rum Extract (with this one, you’ll smell like a pirate)

Toppings

If you thought we had ideas for liquids and add-ins, wait until you get a load of the list for things you can throw on top of your oatmeal:

• Nuts
  • Toasted Peanuts (toasted nuts tasted best, you can try other kinds, but we haven’t had much success at Hectic Manor)
  • Toasted Walnuts
  • Toasted Almonds
  • Toasted Pecans
• Shredded Coconut
• Baking Chips
  • Milk Chocolate Chips
  • Dark Chocolate Chips
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • Butterscotch Chips
  • Cherry Chips
  • Peanut Butter Chips
• Spices (be sure to use ground spices, as whole spices would be weird. Also start with a small amount, you can always add more)
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves
  • Ginger
  • Poppy Seed
• Greek Yogurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Syrup
  • Maple
  • Banana
  • Blackberry
  • Raspberry
  • Butter Pecan
  • Caramel
  • Sugar-free in any flavor
  • Chocolate
  • Coconut
  • Peach
• Meat
  • Finely diced sausage
  • Finely diced bacon
  • Shredded cheese
• Crumbly stuff
  • Smashed graham crackers
  • Granola
  • Any cereal in your pantry