Berries and Oatmeal Recipe

 I cook all the time. We hardly ever eat out and I think I can safely say that we rarely buy anything that comes in a package. Successfully cooking for a family of four means that I need recipes that can be make in bulk like this Berries and Oatmeal Recipe. 

Why I Cook

1. Preparing your own food is much healthier than eating out or buying prepared foods at the grocery store. Sure, you can spend big bucks on pre-made health foods, but that’s just not in our budget.
2. I like being in control of what goes into my body. Even some of the healthier foods that are available for purchase have some odd ingredients (i.e. tapioca starch? What’s that? Sounds pretty processed to me). I like controlling the amount of oil, salt, spices, veggies, etc. that go into our meals.
3. It’s cheaper. WAY cheaper. We spend around $150/week to feed a family of four. Mind you this is every. single. meal. And we eat well – lots of fruits, vegetables, quality meats, beans, quality dairy, and healthy carbs. We buy organic when we can, but it’s not always in the budget.
4. I don’t have another option. Quite frankly, we’d eat out more often if Owen, my son, didn’t have so many food allergies/intolerances. His circumstances make it pretty much impossible to buy anything pre-made. So I guess in some ways his “condition” is a blessing – we eat great!

The Cooking Dilemma 

I should probably let you in on a little secret at this point… I don’t always LIKE to cook this much. Sometimes it’s a real pain. For example, I wake up in the morning when I hear my son, Owen. He wakes in this incredible state of hunger that can only be understood by other parents of very young children. He’s been sleeping for 10 hours while his body has been growing, nerves have been making their first connections, and he’s used every last ounce of energy that was previously in his belly. It’s very caveman-like: “I need food and I need it NOW!”

I change his diaper (while he protests), rush into the kitchen to start to cook, but nothing I have to prepare takes under 30 minutes. He screeches, tugs at my pants, falls on the floor sobbing as if I’ve denied him of the only thing in life that makes him happy. I have to keep saying “no” as he points at a pile of bananas that will certainly be eaten at other times throughout the day, but not for breakfast. Then finally, the food is done. But it’s too hot. Now it has to cool off. More sobbing, more crying, more tugging. Before I know it, I’ve been up for an hour and I didn’t even make time for my morning pee. Needless to say, it’s not a great way to start my day.

The Solution: Berries and Oatmeal

So what do I do? I “cook once, eat twice.” When I cook anything, I make sure I have enough for the next day. In the case of breakfast, I make sure I have enough for the next day, and the next, and the next. I like peaceful mornings and this is how I make it happen. When I make pancakes, I make PANCAKES and I freeze a ton for emergencies. Same with berries and oatmeal… I make BERRIES AND OATMEAL. I make it at night after dinner, store it in the fridge, and then reheat small portions each morning in the microwave (sometimes I have to add more water).

So here’s just one of my go-to oatmeal concoctions. You can sub out any fruit, use nuts, whatever. Just make sure that you make a ton. And if you have a bigger family than I, make even more!