Y’all, I have a confession to make: I unironically LOVE Quaker instant oatmeal. These little packets are simply the best—all you have to do is add water, microwave, et voila, instant oatmeal! Guess that explains the name. As a kid, I used to get a variety pack that included apple cinnamon, maple brown sugar, and cinnamon spice flavors, and believe me when I tell you, there was no wrong choice (and they were all worth the severe tongue burns). Now, Quaker has stepped it up one more notch by introducing a new line of “indulgent” instant oatmeal, which begs the question: How much more indulgent can these packets of liquified oatmeal cookies get?
Turns out, a whole lot more indulgent. Forget the old-school Quaker flavors ranging from Peaches & Cream to Coconut Caramel to S’mores (yes, this exists). This new line of indulgent oatmeal innovations currently includes two flavors: Chocolate, which contains whole grain oats and semisweet chocolate chips, and Cookies & Cream, which contains whole grain oats, dried milk and cream, and chocolate cookie crumbles. Um, hell yeah. I guess if any group of people knows how to make breakfast (or any event) into a party, it’s the Quakers.
I’m wondering if it’s even fair to call this stuff “oatmeal.” At what point does a product stop being oatmeal and start being a breakfast mug cake? Not that I’m complaining. I have fond childhood memories of not adding quite enough water to my Quaker instant oatmeal and ending up with less of a porridge and more of a delicious, sugary breakfast brick. Would I eat a cookies and cream-flavored sugary oatmeal brick? 100%. Nobody is above that. Do I think it would be as “heart healthy” as plain, unflavored oatmeal? Absolutely not. But who on earth is eating cookies and cream oatmeal to be healthy?
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!