Month: April 2017

Breakfast Treat: Chocolate Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Recipe

Video instructions


As a parent, I have found meal preparation very frustrating. Trying to find healthy meals for those picky eaters can be very stressful. Sometimes being creative will help get your little ones to eat something they usually would refuse to try otherwise. Most children like chocolate milk, so why not try making chocolate oatmeal. It is a quick and easy to make.

Ingredients needed for our Chocolate Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Recipe are

  • 1 litre of chocolate milk
  • 2 cups of Quaker Quick 5 minute oats
  • 1 red delicious apple cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon

Quaker Oats Breakfast Recipe
Mix together and put in the microwave for 2 minutes. Continuously stir at the end of the 2 minute intervals. Let stand for a few minutes and do it again.
Cinnamon Oatmeal Dry Ingredient Mix

Chocolate Cinnamon Oatmeal with Apples Cooking In Microwave

I would say this would need to be repeated at least 4 times. After each interval, you will see the consistency starting to thicken. Once all the chocolate milk is absorbed into the oats it should be ready to eat.  For those who like their oatmeal thicker you can do more cooking repetitions in order to thicken the consistency.

If you would like to include your little ones then once it is served they could also be creative by making little emojis of their feelings with small chocolate chips in the oatmeal. I have found that most times, if you include small children in the preparation they are more likely to eat the meal.

As a bonus this meal is affordable.  Chocolate milk is often on sale for the same price or less at grocery stores.  A $3 bag of Quaker oats provides you with 1 KG or 2.2 pounds of oatmeal.  That’s about 3 times the amount you get from those sugary breakfast cereals all for around the same price.
Chocolate Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal in a Bowl
Chocolate oatmeal is delicious and the chocolate flavour will disguise the nutrition of oatmeal and apples that you try so hard to get your children to eat. Every parent struggles to get nutrition into their little ones and the little ones struggle to get the parents to allow them to eat chocolate for breakfast. Let’s just say this is a manipulative way to have the children believe they have manipulated the parents to eat chocolate for breakfast, but in reality the parents have taken a healthy breakfast with a little compromise. This is definitely a win for both the parents and the children. Wouldn’t you agree?

Tasty Breakfast Chocolate Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Quaker

How A Friendly Smile Goes A Long Way

how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-autistic-meltdown-and-a-tantrumApril is autism awareness month and I wanted to share with my readers a personal story.

Have you ever been out shopping and heard a child screaming? Have you thought to yourself that the parent should control that child or gave the parent of the child an unwelcoming glare? I personally have, but after a few outings with my two year old grandson my way of thinking has changed. Maybe yours will too.

Last week, I was at a local Walmart when my two year old grandson suddenly started screaming for no apparent reason. I got a lot of dirty stares and nasty comments from other customers because it probably appeared to them that the child was having a temper tantrum, but people don’t realize that sometimes these children are not having tantrums, they may be children with disabilities like autism that are unable to communicate what the problem is. I would like to say he is autistic and having a meltdown due to being simply overwhelmed by his surroundings and can’t control his behaviour.

So before you judge the lack of parenting abilities, maybe offer a friendly smile. I found that with all the glares and comments, I became tense which intensified his frustration. These children need the opportunity to be out into the community and explore the outside world. This at times must be very scary for them and they are unable to communicate their want or fears of unfamiliar faces or surroundings. It is with outings like this that autistic children can become accustom to the change from being inside a home to being in common environments like a Walmart or a grocery store.   So why don’t we all do our share to make shopping experience enjoyable for all. Giving a Friendly Smile or words of encouragement helps the parent through an emotionally difficult situation.