The Oatmeal Recipe That Will Change Your Life...

I love oatmeal...

Honest!  I think that it's just about one of the best foods known to mankind.

I also happen to like The Oatmeal, though that's a topic to be discussed at a later date...

Myself, I probably have a good thick bowl of oatmeal for breakfast at least three times a week, with a "snack bowl" of the stuff in the afternoon at least twice a week.

Yup...  I like it that much.

I also like to fly with the stuff (the TSA hasn't stopped me yet), and will often take a bowl or two onto an airplane when I'm traveling around the country.  It's sure a lot healthier than the food that usually gets served during flights, and it often garners the envy of other passengers, especially when they start comparing their in-flight meal to my thick, healthy, tasty bowl of whole grain goodness.

Sooooooooo...  Do I have some special way of preparing my oatmeal?

But of course!

Aside from the fact that my travel bowl is filled with dried oats, I also add in plenty of cinnamon, brown sugar, dried fruit (I'm a huge fan of dried craneberries), a small amount of allspice (my secret ingredient), and some sort of toasted nut (I looooove pumpkin seeds).  I also toss a bit of whey protein into the mix, though most people would consider the whey protein to be totally optional, because it is a bit of an acquired taste.  I just happen to be a protein fanatic, and try to get as much of it into my diet as possible.

Again, it's important to realize that the oatmeal I travel with is dried oatmeal (mixed with all sorts of other awesome goodies) and can be brought aboard planes, trains, and automobiles without too much hassle.  The only difficult part of the preparation -- and it's not even all that difficult -- is getting the hot water needed to reconstitute the dried grains and fruit into something that's soft (though not too soft) and delicious.  Fortunately, airplanes almost always have hot water on board in the galley (what a perfect opportunity to make friends with the flight attendants), or -- if you simply want a pre-flight meal -- go to one of the chain coffee shops that are in most airports and ask for a cup of hot water.  The baristas will almost always give you a cup for free.  Even if it's not free, they probably won't charge you too much.  Just be sure to ask for HOT water -- the kind that's hot enough to brew a cup of tea.

Without further ado, and in video form, here's the oatmeal recipe that will change you life...

Again, and it bears repeating, you'll want to use HOT water -- as close to boiling as you can get.  Because of the hot water, you'll also want to use a container of some sort that can tolerate a decent amount of heat.  Top brands like Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or Glad are fairly heat resistant, and so I tend to stick with them.  Having a container with a screw-top lid is also a nice feature, as it might prevent your dried oats from spilling into your backpack, camera bag, or laptop case while running around.

Oh yeah!  Almost forgot...  Bring a spoon, too!