Everybody has their standard, go-to breakfasts for a quick meal when anything else sounds too complex. (Or, in my case, when I’m too tired and lazy to think of making anything else for breakfast…which is most days.)
Today, I’m happy to share with you one of my auto-programmed breakfasts. I haven’t bothered sharing it yet because it’s such a no-brainer for me. But it’s one of our basic go-to breakfasts that is easy, delicious, and everyone loves. I feel much better about feeding my kids this oatmeal than throwing a box of cereal their way. (Which, admittedly, does happen an awful lot.)
While baby girl has gotten in the habit of begging for cereal for breakfast (come on, what kid doesn’t like a little sugar?), she usually still loves oatmeal and will eat bowl after bowl. I used to make a double batch of this oatmeal and throw the rest in the fridge for the next day or two, but admittedly, it’s not very good reheated. The kids will eat it, but I can’t bring myself to and usually will break out the cereal. So do yourself a favor and make it fresh daily.
(On a side note, we often have yogurt parfaits as another go-to breakfast. My daughter couldn’t remember what they were called and was hemming and hawing until she finally stated that she wanted “ravioli” for breakfast. Um, yeah, she meant a parfait. #twoyearoldproblems)
Anyway, this oatmeal is naturally sweetened with bananas and doesn’t need any sugar. If you’re worried about the lack of sugar, you can add a little maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar for sweetening. Also, the riper your banana is, the sweeter it will be. If you want to make sure you get banana in every bite, you can mash it up instead of chopping it, to ensure it more evenly and fully distributes throughout the oatmeal.
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 large banana, chopped into very small pieces (or mashed, if desired)
- heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- dash of salt, if desired
- 1 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries
- Bring the water and milk just barely to a boil. Add in the oats, bananas, cinnamon, and salt. Boil it on low for about 5 minutes or until oatmeal is tender. If you use fresh blueberries you can add them after the oatmeal is done cooking. If frozen, I like to add them in the last minute or so of cooking. Let stand for several minutes before serving.
Crowther Cafe 
I’ve only recently started eating oatmeal, as it is not such a big breakfast trend here in Switzerland. I’m hooked; I love the taste and all the benefits it brings to my body. I also make a similar sugar-free version with cinnamon, water and banana, but I also add some chopped walnuts on top and some almond butter. Yum!