Pudding Oatmeal

I have been on a major oatmeal kick lately.  It's super healthy and a pretty quick meal.  BUT, a big old bowl of oatmeal is very boring.  Some people think of oatmeal as a yucky bowl of mush! Trust me, this oatmeal is anything but yucky! (Although it is still kinda mushy...) I have been playing around with different ways to jazz it up a bit.  My favorite so far is cheesecake oatmeal!

Old fashioned oats and sugar free fat free pudding mix is all you need!! I chose cheesecake this time! You can absolutely use any flavor of pudding here.  You can use vanilla, chocolate, white chocolate, banana cream (those are all the sugar free fat free flavors).  Of course you can also use regular pudding mix and have more options, but then you have a lot more sugar being added.

This is so quick and simple to make.  Just take 1/2 cup oats and about 2 T of the pudding mix.  You can also add some sweetener ( I add 3 splenda ) and a dash of salt.  Then add 2 cups of water.  The oatmeal container directions will say to only add 1 cup of water. We are going to let our oats sit for a while so they will absorb the extra water and expand.  This is going to give you an extra big bowl of yummy oatmeal!  Also, the pudding mix will need the extra water.  Feel free to substitute any type of milk instead of water. 

I recommend using a whisk to mix it up good because the pudding mix will clump together.  A spoon will work, just make sure you get all the clumps out.  You will also want to use a decent size bowl because your oatmeal will expand in the microwave.  Depending on the flavor of pudding you use, you could add some cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa powder, etc to the mix. Get creative! I kept it simple on this batch.

Microwave for 2 minutes.  Take it out and stir it up good.  Then microwave another 30-45 second.  Keep an eye on it!  At about 2 1/2 minutes it will start to boil and could spill over.  (I learned this the hard way) It is also nice to have a bigger bowl so you can go crazy with toppings!  

It already looks thicker.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes uncovered and then put it in the fridge.  I usually let mine sit overnight, but it really only needs a couple hours to let the pudding set.  When it is ready you can microwave it for a bit or just eat it cold.  I actually prefer it cold because of the pudding. Almost like a bread pudding texture.  Either way it is super yummy! 

This is the really fun part!! Toppings! You can get so creative here. I kept this one simple with just some sliced bananas and some sugar free syrup.

You can also do vanilla pudding mix with bananas, cinnamon, peanut butter, and whipped cream on top :)

Some other great topping could be strawberries, chocolate sauce, any nut butter, jam, dried fruit, apples, blueberries, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.  Play around with different puddings and toppings!

Pudding Oatmeal

• 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 T sugar free fat free pudding mix (any flavor)
• 2 cups water
• sweetener to taste
• dash of salt

Simply mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Microwave 2 minutes.  Stir.  Microwave another 30-45 seconds.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.  Enjoy warmed up or straight out of the fridge!   

What is your favorite oatmeal flavor??