DIY Instant Oatmeal Packets

With both my husband and I rushing to get to work in the morning, the dog to take out and Luc to get ready and off to daycare, mornings can be a little crazy for us just as they can be for most families. While I try to have healthy breakfasts planned and made in advance that doesn't always happen, especially towards the end of the week. These DIY Instant Oatmeal Packets have helped to keep us fed and sane on weekday mornings over the past few weeks. These were inspired by a post on Once A Month Mom but I've made a couple changes to make them a little healthier. Not only are these much less expensive per serving than the pre-packaged commercial varieties but you get to control the sugar content.

The skim milk powder and the sucanat may seem expensive when you buy them, but you can make 200 oatmeal servings using this small bag of milk, and about 145 servings of oatmeal from this bag of sucanat! And of course oats are super inexpensive, especially if you buy them from a bulk store (which clearly I did not do this time!) I also store mine in little reusable containers rather than using up plastic baggies . And while quick oats are not quite as healthy of steel cut oats, they are still considered whole grain (nothing is removed, they're just cut up smaller), so you don't have to feel quilty for succumbing to convenience.


This recipe is for the equivalent of one of those little comercial packets which I find is a good toddler serving size. However, I also make double sized portions as adult-sized servings. You can whip up, assembly line style, a dozen of these in about 3 minutes! You could use brown sugar rather than the succanat but not only is the succanat less refined and healthier, but it really tastes better. This recipe is for a really basic oatmeal but you can experiment with different spices as well as adding dried fruit.

DIY Instant Oatmeal Packet (1 serving)

- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1 tsp instant milk powder
- 1/2 tbsp succanat
- pinch sea salt
- pinch cinnamon

Mix all into a small resealable container and store in the cupboard for use on those crazy mornings! To use add contents to a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of boiling water, stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Enjoy.

If you have a little more time on your hands here are a couple of my favourite Oatmeal recipes: Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal and Birchermuesli!

Pinterest Experiments Part One

I had very good intentions of publishing a cutesy Valentine's Day post featuring some heart shape hard-boiled eggs that I was inspried to try from a Pin. Unfortunately things didn't go exactly as planned and Luc ended up eating a mangled egg as a snack, which was ok for him because lately he just loves hard-boiled eggs and he didn't realize that this time it was actually supposed to be cute.

I've been doing a fair amount of experimenting with ideas that I've found on Pinterest. I know there are  mixed feelings about Pinterest, but I find that not only is it a great way to visually organize my bookmarks, which makes them easier to find again later, and I'm constantly being inspired by other people's amazing creativity and ideas. I'm always looking for new household 'best practices'. Here is a round-up a few of the tricks/ideas/projects that I've recently tried that I found on Pinterest.

1. Heart-Shaped Egg

Verdict: Fail

My egg ended up splitting on the top while at the same time also having indents on the sides where the cardstock dug into the sides of the egg somehow.

I am planning on trying this again, however with thicker card and cutting it down a little lower. How cute would Deviled Eggs be in these?

2. Regrowing Green Onions

Verdict: Success!

I was skeptical but this actually worked and they grow so fast that it's incredible. Mine are ready to use again in little more than 1 week.

Just plunk your white root ends in a shot glass and keep on a widowsill and top up the water every couple of days.

Very cool and budget friendly too! Twice the green onions out of one purchase.

3. Freezing Green Onions

Verdict: Fail

I always seem to have leftover green onions that go bad before I can use them, so I was interested to try this method of freezing them.

At first, this method of freezing sliced green onions in an empty water bottle worked great.

However, after the one week, they were starting to get awfully freezer burned already.

The problem lies in not being able to get rid of the air in the container. Probably better to just freeze in a zip-top bag, being sure to squeeze out as much air as possible. You'll have to break off a chunk to use and they wont' look as nice but they'll keep longer.

4. Homemade Natural Body Wash

Verdict: Mixed

I used Dr. Bronner's citrus bar soap as the base for this recipe, but you can use any all-natural bar soap. It was quick and easy to make, super cheap, smelled great, lathered up well and left us all feeling cleaner than with our store-bought body wash.

However, the texture was just awful. It felt like play slime. It was really gross to touch and use.

I'm going to play with the recipe and see if I can get the texture just right, because this could save us quite a bit of money over time instead of buying natural organic paraben-free body washes.

I'll update if I'm successful with this one! 

Are you on Pinterest? What are your favorite Pinterest tips, tricks, and finds?

Activity: Food Memory Game

I was originally going to include a photo in this post of L enjoying playing this memory game, HOWEVER he is covered ears to toes in a strep rash and in a couple years he probably won't appreciate having his picture posted on the internet covered in gross red splotches. We took him grocery shopping and a man in the parking lot saw him and made a disgusted face! Even though Ldidn't notice, I still felt like giving him a big cuddle and that guy the dirtiest look I could muster :(  Anyhow, I hope you like this little game I made as much as we did!

How to Prepare

Follow the link below to get started! Just download the images and either print on cardstock or laminate the sheets after printing and then cut apart (I don't have a laminator but I've become a big fan of these self-laminating sheets).

How to Play

This memory game is suitable for young toddlers all the way up to older preschoolers, depending on how you play it. For younger toddlers make this into a simple matching game using only one set of images. Have all the pieces facing upwards, pick out one image and ask the child to find another one just like it. For this age group also use this as a word excercise identifying both the foods pictured and what colors they are.

For older toddlers and preschoolers, start out the memory game by choosing only two sets of cards (4 cards total) and lay them face down. Flip one card face up. Pick a second card and flip it up. See if it matches the first card.  Continue to flip up cards until one matches.  Take the matching pair of cards and put them next to your child. Put the rest of the game cards face down again and repeat the game.  Try to remember the cards you have flipped over. Make sure to keep the cards in the same place in the layout.

To make the game more challenging as your child is ready, take one turn flipping only two cards, so that your child has to remember where the matching card is. You can then add more sets of cards until you are able to use both entire sets.

Also...

You can also use these cards as part of a refrigerator/pantry scavenger hunt to find the corresponding item when the memory game gets boring!

Download the full-sized game cards here! 

Turkey Harvarti Pinwheels with Basil Mayo

I'm back at work this week after being off to help out my incompacitated husband after surgery. He still has an arm in a sling so it's up to me to do most of the chores, looking after Luc, etc. What that means is that I'm really relying on fast and fuss-free food, just like these pinwheels.

Pinwheels make a great part of a lunch. They are super quick and easy to make, more fun presentation-wise than a sandwich, and easier for little hands to manage. Also, now that there are so many more choices of nitrate-free natural deli meat so there are more options for fillings, including this one, which is a favorite around our house. You can substitues chicken for the turkey of course and another kind of cheese if you'd like as well (shaved baby parm sprinkled over top of the meat tastes awesome -- Luc perfers its more mild taste than Parmigiano Reggiano). This below recipe is just for one, but I usually make some for all of us, assembly line-style.

Turkey Havarti Pinwheels with Basil Mayo

- 1 6" whole grain tortilla
- 2 slices nitrate-free turkey deli meat
- 2 slices havarti (or cheese of your choice)
- 1 6" stalk celery, quartered lenthwise to get a skinny stick
- 2 tsp plain cream cheese
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp minced fresh basil

In a small bowl or ramekin, mix mayonnaise with fresh basil and set aside.

Lay out your tortilla, and smear the cream cheese over the last inch of the edge on half of the tortilla (the cream cheese will be your glue to hold the whole thing together). Spread the remainder with an even layer of basil mayonnaise. Lay the turkey slices on top, then layer the cheese. Place the celery stick at the lower edge and roll up as tightly as you can, pressing lightly to seal the edge. With a very sharp knife, slice the roll into even slices. Pop the two ugly end pieces in your month to pretend they were never there.