If I was forced to stop at McDonalds for breakfast, had a gun to my head and had to choose something real quick without thinking, I’d probably choose oatmeal. But let’s be real here, I’ve never HAD to go to McDonalds.
Oatmeal is one of the most benign health foods in the world. It’s pretty hard to screw it up but that’s exactly what fast food has done. If you make oatmeal at home, it’s easiest thing to make ever – hot water/milk and some oats straight out of your pantry and voila – you’ve got breakfast with soluble fiber, protein, and real whole grains that will keep you full for hours.
But when you buy it on the run and or get it “to go” because pouring hot or even cold liquid over something straight out of your pantry is just too much for your busy life – you get cheap GMO oils that promote prostate and bone cancer, coloring that could be cancerous, nasty preservatives, heart disease promoting transfat, stabilizer causing intestinal distress, and oh boy – natural flavor that comes from who knows what.
The ingredients that are added to oatmeal by places like McDonalds, Panera Bread, Jamba Juice, and Quaker (which Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and other fast food places use) are dreadful. This why you must it a priority to make your own oatmeal, even when you don’t think you have time to make it.
I used to travel for work every single week for a few years and I was never forced to buy oatmeal because I had my recipe for oatmeal “on the go” down pat.
Here’s what I did and still do when time is short or when I’m on the run:
- I carry a mixture of 1/4 cup instant plain organic oatmeal, 1/4 cup rolled organic oatmeal, and a few sprinkles of organic cinnamon in a ziplock bag.
- In another ziplock bag, I have one whole date and a few walnuts.
- When I am ready to make oatmeal – I get a cup of hot water from a place like a hotel, gas station or even Starbucks. (No, this is not stealing because they will gladly give this to you for free and I’ll tip the barista for the free water)
- I break or cut up the date into pieces and add the oatmeal into the cup of hot water, do a quick stir and let it sit until it’s warmed through and the oats have soaked up all the water and the date dissolves.
- Before eating, I add the walnuts for a crunchy topping, sometimes I’ll add a packet of almond butter too for a long lasting meal.
- The cinnamon and date act as amazing (real!) natural flavor and sweetness. The date actually dissolves quite a bit in the oatmeal which leaves a great delicious consistency.
- Sometimes this recipe varies, depending what I have access to. I like to add banana, raisins, goji berries and/or other nuts. The toppings you can carry in your bag that travel well are really endless.
Thank you for reading – love you guys.
If you know someone who is still buying fast food oatmeal, please share this post with them. You’ll save their health and help them save lots of cash too.
Xo,
Food Babe
Contest is now closed. Congratulations to Doug J., Nichole , Jackie D. for winning the Country Choice Organic giveaway! Please check your email for details. If you didn’t win – Country Choice Organic is available on Amazon and most natural food stores.
Love oatmeal with walnuts and cinnamon!!!
my fav is over night oats w berries and chia seeds!
Love Oatmeal. Lots of real butter and maple syrup on mine….oh and sometimes cinnamon.
My girls love oatmeal:)
Love, love, love oatmeal!
I love oatmeal made with milk and maple syrup…. yum!
Good idea for making my own oatmeal to-go.
I’ll add pecans right out of my backyard!!! Thanks for sharing your discoveries!!!
Oatmeal is a must in our home! I’ve bought Country Choice at our Trader Joe’s.
We love oatmeal here! Its one of my favorite breakfasts because it is so fast, easy and nutritious!
Our latest passion is overnight refrigerator oatmeal. SO easy with kids! Love. It.
When places started offering oatmeal I thought “this is great, something I can have.” I have a dairy allergy so my choices are limited. Then I looked up the ingredients. Yeah, never mind, they’re all full of additives incleueing dairy products. Ugh. It’s amazing that they can even ruin oatmeal!
Country Choice Oatmeal is awesome!!!!
Just curious, why is sunflower oil in red?
My sister just told me about this brand!! I would love to try it!
I love real organic oatmeal with fruits and spices
We fly through oatmeal around here…especially now that we’ve realized how much better organic rolled oats taste compared to the instant oats we’d been buying.
Going clean and lost 16 lbs so far 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 this would be an amazing help to stay on the right track!
Thank you for creatung awareness to genetically modified foods. I am bwcoming more aware what i feed my 4 kids now. We love oatmeal, but havenot tried the good for ypu kinds like ypu are describing. We would love to try…..goodbye quaker.
I would love to win your healthy yummy oatmeal!
I love the real food movement and love learning about great brands like country choice organic. Love oatmeal!!!! Great rule of thumb…don’t eat anything your great grandma wouldn’t recognize.
This is great I love oatmeal
I’m throwing out my Quaker Rolled Oats tonight! Thanks for keeping us unto date on it and giving yummy alternatives.
I love oatmeal for breakfast and using it to make my own oat flour for baking!!
atmeal especially the steel cut oats! Thanks for entering me in the contest!
I am so going to go through my pantry and get rid of instant oats. Thanks for the info!
We love Country Choice in this house!
We love steel cut oats. I haven’t tried this brand yet and would love to.
I knew these were junk and I stay away from them but I never knew annatto and carageenan were bad I was thinking it was just seeds and seaweed. Thanks for the info and love your site! Oatmeal has always been a fave I’ll def try your to go recipe.
I love oatmeal, and never buy fast food!!
Thanks for sharing this information on oatmeal. I had no idea one of my favorites was anything less than healthy. Your on the go recipe sounds delicious and I plan to give it a whirl. Who would have thought a date could make such a tasty difference!
Oatmeal with dried cranberries & raisins, cinnamon & a splash of maple syrup is how I start most days…served with rice milk.
Can’t wait to try your recipes!
Thanks for teaching us something new everyday!
I need to try this oatmeal!
Hope to win!
Love overnight oats.
I would love to try this oatmeal! Please pick me!
Great information, i hope to win and will definetly stop using quaker oats, i will switch to a better for me oatmeal. Fresh peaches cut up in oatmeal is the best breakfast or snack ever.
Good information. I won’t be ordering oatmeal from those places anymore! Also, thanks for an on-the-go oatmeal recipe 🙂
I love oatmeal
I’m excited to try this oatmeal! I’ve just started to look for organics and like that you’re recommending this one. Thanks!
I love my oatmeal cooked with milk, jaggery or brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. And then when it has finished cooking, I add a little bit of vanilla extract. Mmm…so good on a chilly morning, or any other morning for that matter!
love this brand!
LOVE oatmeal!! Especially in the winter time for breakfast….yum! 🙂
Oatmeal is always the best breakfast choice!! Fresh berries, coconut, and almond butter : )
I have oatmeal every morning with wild blueberries, cinnamon, flax and almond milk. Love it!!
Thank you for sharing this, I’ve been wondering just how “healthy” the oatmeal at those restaurants really is. Now I know!
It has a higher Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio, the same as corn, soy, safflower and canola. This is why I don’t recommend it. Besides – it has no purpose in oatmeal.
I somehow can’t find my old posts. Was there anything offensive with what I was writing? Or is any kind of critique not wanted?
I love oatmeal and it looks like I’ve been eating the WRONG ones for years, it’s a wonder I’m alive. Thanks for all this great information! We have a Whole Foods opening any minute down the street from my house, can’t wait… 🙂
oatmean is great for lactating moms!