"Island" Oatmeal in a Bowl: Save Money and Time Making This Healthy Breakfast

It seems like everyone has been singing the praises of eating oatmeal in the morning as part of a heart healthy diet. WebMd refers to it as "a superfood for the heart." According to Kathhleen Zelman MPH RD/LD, WebMD director of nutriton, oatmeal provides several important benefits. Oatmeal delivers heart healthy fiber that can help lower cholesteral. This is also important to maintain a healthy weight. Plus, oatmeal is also warm and filling on a cold winter morning. This in itself can help regulate your weight, as you are less likely to reach for snacks between meals. Being a whole grain, oatmeal can even help reduce the risk of diabetes, which in turn is a risk factor for heat disease.

I have a simple recipe that is easy to prepare and puts a new twist on grandma's old favorite. Begin in the grocery store, where you will find that oatmeal is packaged in several different ways. Instant oatmeal comes in individual packets, presweetened in several flavors. This is the most expensive way to buy oatmael. Standard oats are much less expensive, and you get much more volume. If you buy "Quick" oats, you really do not have to mess up a pan to cook them. Sometimes they are called "1 Minute Oats." You can make them right in the bowl. Buying oatmeal in this fashion has several benefits. You are "going green" with less packaging, and less clean-up. Plus, I like having the heart-healthy oats as a staple in my kitchen. You can use them to make oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal also makes a great filler in meatloaf.

Now that you have this handy staple in your kitchen, it is easy to make oatmeal every morning. My recipe is not only easy, it makes it fun for the kids -- or the kid in you. Measure the oats into a bowl. I use 2/3 cup. Boil water in a tea kettle. Using the same measuring cup, pour in an equal amount of boiling water over the oats. Because water has the property of holding its temperature for at least one minute, the oats really do not need to cook anymore. Just set the bowl in a warm place. Top with 2 ounces of butter of margarine. I have been using a lower fat brand that has a good buttery flavor. Make a crater with your spoon, and the butter will melt creating a little lake of "lava." Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar. This is the "igneous rock cover." By time you put he oats and brown sugar away, you oatmeal is ready to eat. Using you spoon, make a trough between the oatmeal and the bowl. Fill with milk This is the "sea" It is fun to eat for children and adults, but because this recipe requires boiling water, be sure there is adult supervision.

Start your day the heart healthy way, and save a little money at the same time!