A zine about oatmeal
Breakfast in the home, at the desk, or by the campfire
Last fall I was teaching a zine workshop for tweens and teens, and as with most of my classes, I want to dive into the fun, too. So, while the kids wrote humorous how-to zines or observational zines about fashion, I worked on a zine to collect my recipe ideas for oatmeal mixes.
I shared my zine with the kids, but found that somehow they didn’t share the excitement for kitchen hacks and streamlining the morning routines. So puzzling.
But adults got it - the perpetual goal of making mornings easier. This was all spurred by my craving for the fun and ease of the oatmeal packets from when I was a kid - but as an adult those packets taste more like overly sweet mush to me. So, that lead to experiments with quick oats and rolled oats to see if they would cook in my insulated travel mug, given a little time.
It worked, and the mixes are more matched to my adult palate, and the toothiness of the rolled oats pleases me, too. I can scoop oats in three travel mugs, pour boiling water in, close the lid, and then in 20 minutes, the kids can open them up and eat while we drive. I can eat once we arrive (though this works less well when I am driving an hour an a half on ski days, so it ends up being my second breakfast, followed by the Lara bar that tides me over).
The zine sat around in its draft stage for a few months until this past week when we wanted to bring one of these oatmeal mixes for our camping trip. We packed a 4-person portion of Coconut Mango Oats in a ziplock and had it on a morning so cold that I was wearing every piece of clothing that I had packed.
How did packing for a camping trip lead to finishing up the zine? Well, I got both done, so does it really matter?
Download and print the zine below, or scroll down for the recipes. If you aren’t sure how to fold a zine, instructions are here.
Oatmeal Base Mix
6 cups of oats*
1/2-3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cups powered milk
1 tsp salt
*I use ‘old fashioned’ rolled oats since I like the texture. It still works with the travel mug method because the inuslated mugs gives it time to cook. You can use Instant, Quick or Old Fashioned/Rolled oat for this recipe, which will affect cooking times. You can’t use Steel Cut oats because those need a much longer cooking time.
Flavor Mixes
Apple Pie
2 cups dried apples, chopped up
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecan pieces
Peaches & Cream
2 cups dried peaches, chopped up
1/2 cup additional milk powder
Coconut Mango
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried mango, chopped
1 cup cashew pieces
*replace the milk powder with dried coconut milk powder
Pumpkin Pie
1 cup cranberries
1 cup pecan pieces
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Assemble the base mix and your flavor mix in a large bowl and toss until evening distributed. Store in a jar. Give a shake before you scoop your portion out.
Stove top: 1/2 cup of mix and 1 cup of water
In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add oat mix and stir. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Travel Mug: 1/2 cup mix and 3/4 cup boiling water
Combine in an insulated travel mug. Stir and cover. Let sit for 15 minutes or more.
Overnight: 1/2 cup mix and 1/2 cup water or milk
Combine in a bowl or jar. Stir and cover. Leave in the fridge overnight.
Notes
These portion sizes are at the lower end, so figure out what portion is right for you (for 4 people, I add one extra serving and it generally works out).
We have been getting a lot of these ingredients from Nuts.com
Love this idea. I love oatmeal but also dislike the instant packages. I never eat them. I love the hack for a better solution with rolled oats which is the best way to oatmeal!