Travel can be a tough thing for die-hard oatmeal fans. The packets of instant oats are convenient, but the often-artificial flavors and added sugar often detract from the wholesome oats and simple spices. The solution? Make your own on-the-go instant oatmeal packs!
Making on-the-go packs of oats is as simple as getting a few ziplocs (or other containers) and gathering up your favorite combination of oats, nuts, and spices. Let Kimberly Hasselbrink of the stunning blog The Year in Food help out. Of her recipe for travel oats featuring cranberries and ginger, she says:
I have a generous hand with the spices, and I make sure to add some nuts for crunch and protein, and some kind of fruit, dried or fresh, and a heaping tablespoon of crystallized ginger to elevate it from bland porridge to special bowl of coziness.
The nice thing about Hasselbrink's recipe is its adaptability and simplicity. Don't like cranberries? Toss in some plump cherries or currents instead. Low on oats? Try the recipe with other relatively quick-cooking grain flakes like barley flakes or rye flakes. Then when you're ready to cook the oatmeal, it's as easy as heating it on the stove (or in the microwave) with a cup of water until creamy. Couldn't be easier. I might even go so far as to say it's a road-trip game changer.
Get the Recipe: Cranberry Ginger Oatmeal | The Year in Food
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I do this! I keep the fixins in separate bags in my snack drawer in the office and prepare single serve packets of oatmeal and cream of wheat. Simple, easy & filling!
i do this too, except i just make a big container of it and leave in my desk drawer. easy enough to scoop out a serving each morning. i love to add toasted nuts, sesame seeds, chocolate chips, and TVP for extra protein. delicious!
I do this as well, mostly because convenient gluten-free breakfasts that can be kept in one's desk for emergencies are impossible to find, otherwise. Certified gluten-free oats, and you're good to go!
(I have a wheat allergy and 2 colleagues have celiac. We have a communal cupboard of emergency meals.)
I put my dry oatmeal mix in a jar every morning and then pour in hot water at the office. Portable hot breakfast.
Love this idea! Oatmeal is comforting to my troubled stomach and I hate the commercial products with all the artificial crap in them.
We keep a big jar of homemade instant oatmeal mix in the cabinet. Come breakfast time, it's quick and easy to mix 1/2 cup mix and 1/2 cup water and microwave it for 45 seconds. My nine year old does it herself if I'm running late or if she's out of school and sleeps in.
when i had a job that involved a lot of travel, i did this all the time. when i got hungry on long flights, i would ask the attendant for hot water and i was good to go.
That's what I do as well, but not when I travel, just to bring to work premixed in serving sizes. Everyone always seems to like to put cranberries in these things, but I prefer cherries. I do crystalized ginger, powdered ginger, dried cherries, almond flour, and some powdered milk and brown sugar. And don't forget a pinch of salt.
Hi Ros, my son and I too have to eat gluten free. I struggle with ideas; especially while out and for him as he is 14 and HUNGRY A LOT. Would you please share your emergency office meal ideas as this is where I struggle? Any other "quick grabs" or "on the go" suggestions for our son would be appreciated as well.