Frugal Fruity Oatmeal

Love oatmeal, but don't like paying for flavors? Want a fast breakfast that's both healthy and yummy? Try my Frugal Fruity Oatmeal:

1 c. old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 c. water
1/2 - 1 c. fruited yogurt, chilled

Stir the oatmeal and water together in an oversized microwave safe dish; your mixture should only come halfway up the sides of the container. Otherwise, you have an overflow risk. Feel free to substitute all or part of the water for milk for added nutritional value. Microwave on high for four minutes or until the grains are soft and have absorbed all of the liquid. Stir the cool yogurt into the oatmeal to your preferred consistency. If it's still too thick for your preferences, add a bit of milk or water to thin it. This should be eating temperature (the yogurt cooled it), so enjoy quickly before it cools off and solidifies ;) Isn't oatmeal great?

Vary your bowl by using vanilla yogurt instead of fruited, and spice it with cinnamon or ginger (or both!); better still, thin it with plain yogurt and top it with pure maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar. Top it with fruit or nuts. Oatmeal is incredibly versatile.

In addition to its versatility, oatmeal is incredibly good for you. It's soothing on the digestive tract; oatmeal is often used in skin preparations to soothe and heal broken, itchy, or painful skin conditions. It's a whole grain, so you get the benefit of the germ, the endosperm, and the bran. Also, oats have been shown to lower cholesterol and help cleans the blood, so add some oats to your diet.