Oatmeal Shake-Down

I had the day off from work the other day and after our morning smoothie I wanted to fix a meal that I wouldn't necessarily have time to make on a workday. Oatmeal came to mind. We recently had company and had a box of flavored oatmeal packets. I do love those, but they are so sugary and sweet.

The fine-mesh strainer hanging in the kitchen materialized in my mind as a solution to separate the oats from the sugar. I quickly got to work. Here is how it shook out:


Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour contents of oatmeal packet onto strainer.

Shake strainer over bowl to separate sugar from oats.

Boom. You save yourself over 1 tablespoon sugar (3 teaspoons)...room enough to add a little bit of natural sweetener and other add-ins like seeds and nuts.

It was an interesting and somewhat empowering experiment. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation of wanting oatmeal without all the sugar in the packets...you have a solution: shake it out!

Almond and Blackberry Oatmeal

1 serving

1 oatmeal packet, sifted

1/4 cup water, or more to taste

1 tablespoon flax meal

1 tablespoon ground almonds

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

6 blackberries

1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Combine oats and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until water is slightly reduced and oatmeal is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir flax meal, ground almonds, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt into oatmeal. Cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Transfer oatmeal to a bowl and top with blackberries and sliced almonds.