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Whether you are an early riser or not, this Rise and Shine Oatmeal Bar is perfect for adding a little flair to your breakfast! All you do is grab a bowl, add some toppings, and enjoy!
Breakfast has always been one of my favorite meals of the day. I don’t often have time to sit down and eat it, but when I do I love making it a family affair. I remember when I was a kid we had big Sunday breakfasts of eggs, bacon, and all the fixins’. It was something I always looked forward to. It was a time for the family to connect, to slow down, and to really have a meal together. I loved those times, and now that I have a family we do weekend breakfasts with our own twist. We normally have any number of things from French toast to pancakes, but this week I went a step further and made it extra special with my favorite Quaker® Oats.
I have this perfect spot in the back yard where the light is gorgeous in the morning, and I love eating at the picnic table, so I decided to give my family a little treat and set up a “Rise and Shine” oatmeal bar with all kinds of great toppings and options. It’s great seeing what combinations everyone comes up with, and it is delicious to boot! I set it up using dishes and decor I got from the dollar section at Target (yes, those bowls were $3 each!), Quaker® Maple & Brown Sugar and One-Minute Oats, and a variety of fruits, mix-ins, nut and toppings.
Oatmeal is a great choice for a “make your own” setting because there are so many different ways to serve it, but also because it’s just so easy – all you have to do is mix with water and voila! I love finding new topping combinations and mix-ins, and voila! Here are some of my personal favorite creations.
Mexican Hot Chocolate
How to make: Combine one cup of Quaker® Quick 1-Minute Oats, 2 tablespoons of dry hot cocoa mix, a teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/2 cup hot water. Stir to blend, and top with a drizzle of chocolate topping and marshmallows. Yum!
Pina Colada
How to make: Combine on cup of Quaker® Quick 1-minute Oates, 1/2 cup water, and 1 tbsp toasted coconut. Top with pineapple wedges, cinnamon, coconut, and a ribbon of agave nectar or honey.
I also love layering fresh fruits in like strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, and bananas, or when I’m wanting something rich adding Irish cream, caramel and chocolate for a great “Irish” bowl! There are SO many great combinations out there, and it just so happens that Quaker® is looking for them with their Bring Your Best Bowl contest starting in January. The top recipes will be created and sold in stores for a limited time in Fall 2016 – how awesome is that? The big winner gets $250,000 and you can find out more information here. They suggest that all entry recipes have between 2-5 ingredients, so keep that in mind! Winners will be announced in November 2016.
Now let’s check out more of this breakfast bar. I made sure to include lots of toppings that can mix and match, and since I set this up outside I bought one of those big 24 hour hot thermoses to keep my water in. It was perfect! I love all the cute details, and I even created a super cute sign in PicMonkey that took me all of three minutes.
You can find everything you need for your own oatmeal bar at Target, just look for the special end caps!