Snack time - the intersection of Real and Realistic

A few mornings ago I saw a great post from 100 Days of Real Food. As you loyal followers of my blog know, I'm more about realistic than real, but sometimes the two can meet in a happy place!!

I struggle a little with what I send for snack for my six year old. The little one gets snacks provided at daycare, which I think are mostly carbs and real snacky stuff, but I don't ask too many questions about that...I take it as a gift - one less thing I have to do!

For my six year old, I have to either send both morning snack and lunch or just morning snack and she buys lunch.
On days when the older one is buying lunch, I feel a little more pressure to send a healthy snack, in case lunch is made of crap!

Examples of snacks that I send:
Yoplait Greek yogurt with granola
Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and fruit salad
Fruit salad and a Stonyfield yogurt smoothie

So, back to the post that I saw on the 100 Days of Real Food Facebook page. 

What a great idea!  Warm, delicious, made-from-scratch oatmeal in a well constructed thermos that will keep it warm. 

Here is the recipe:

Oatmeal

Serves: 1

 

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup milk (any variety will do but we use whole milk at our house)
• ½ cup plain rolled oats (I get ours out of the bulk bins at Earth Fare)
• Big dash of cinnamon
• Drizzle of honey
• Small splash of pure vanilla extract
• As many raisins as your heart desires …also, good with nuts on top

Instructions

1. In a small pot over high heat warm up the milk.
2. As soon as the milk starts to bubble drop in the oats, stir once, and turn the heat down to low.
3. Let the oats simmer for 2 – 3 minutes. You can stir it a couple times if you’d like.
4. Once the oats have soaked up most of the milk add the vanilla, honey, cinnamon, raisins, and mix everything together. Take off the heat and serve or store for later in a Thermos.
   Tip: My daughters like their oatmeal a little “soupy” so I usually try to catch it before all of the milk has been absorbed by the oats. You could also add a little extra cold milk at the end, which will help cool it down for little ones as well.

Of course, you could also use a nice organic instant oatmeal packets if you don't have time for the steps above.  Can always add some fresh fruit on top!

Here's another idea for oatmeal, thanks to Pinterest (I LOVE PINTEREST!!!):

Gluten-Free (Or Regular) Baked Oatmeal Casserole
Total Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats (of course, you could use regular rolled oats if no gluten issues)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup raspberries {any berries work}
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, peeled, 1/2-inch slices

Make this on Sunday and use it all week long for breakfasts and snacks!

YUMMY!!!

 

And, for the thermos...
Our friends at 100 Days of Real Food performed an analysis of thermoses. 
You can read their full blog post here:
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/11/26/how-to-use-thermos-food-jars/

I just ordered 2 insulated food jars from amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Funtainer-10-Ounce-Hello-Kitty/dp/B0017IJSSO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368040335&sr=8-1&keywords=hello+kitty+thermos

So, I think that once these Thermos food containers arrive I am going to send warmed up mac and cheese, soup, oatmeal...or on a really REALISTIC day: good ol' fashioned spaghettios!!!

Bon appetit!