Homemade Strawberries 'n' Cream Oatmeal

Although the store-bought Strawberries'n'cream tastes sooooooooo goooooood (did I have enough o's to emphasize on how delicious it is?!), it contains Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, among other unnecessary ingredients and artificial colors/flavors... so, alas, into our shopping cart no more. It's expensive, so probably a smart decision anyways.

Here is the ingredients list on the back of the Quaker Oats brand version:

WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, FLAVORED FRUIT PIECES (DEHYDRATED APPLES [TREATED WITH SODIUM SULFITE TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION], ARTIFICIAL STRAWBERRY FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, RED 40), CREAMING AGENT (MALTODEXTRIN, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL**, WHEY, SODIUM CASEINATE), SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GUAR GUM, OAT FLOUR, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE*, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, FOLIC ACID*.

Here is the ingredients list for the homemade version:

Whole Gran Rolled oats, Water, Milk (or soy/rice/almond milk, etc.), Flax, Real Fruit, Powdered Sugar, Butter (optional, but we like butter around here!), dash of Salt

We made our own this morning from frozen strawberries and bulk oatmeal (you can freeze strawberries from your garden, or buy them frozen - the Costco near us sells local frozen berries!). For the same price of one box of the Quaker Oats Strawberries 'N' Cream (usually around $4), you can buy ingredients for 4x more meals that the one small box offers.
This is how I made it for a family of 3 1/2 (my son is only one, so he's only a half serving):
2 cups rolled oats
1cup water
1 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (even yummier if you use half'n'half or heavy cream!)
2 Tablespoons Flax (the ground kind - we bought a huge jar of it from Costco and keep it in our freezer so it will keep for longer - it is a great source of Omega 3's)
3 heaping Tablespoons powdered sugar (or more if you want it sweeter!) or other sweetener of your choice - Stevia is good too, but you don't have to use as much Stevia!
1 Tablespoon butter
Dash of salt
4 or more large frozen strawberries

Heat the water and milk until near boiling, stirring occasionally; stir in the oats and flax and cook until they are starting to get soft, stirring occasionally to often until it is "mushy" and resembles the consistency of oatmeal you prefer; Stir in the sugar and butter and dash of salt and stir until the butter is melted and the ingredients are fully mixed in; divide into individual bowls. Using kitchen shears, cut the strawberries into little tiny pieces, chunks or slices over each bowl (it's ok for the ice to fall in too) and then stir - the cold of the strawberries will help cool the oatmeal for your little ones, but be sure to test it first before serving it!  You can also add more milk, cream, or plain or vanilla yogurt on top to both cool it down and make it more creamy!

It doesn't taste exactly like the store-bought kind, but it's much better for you!  You can also add other berries and/or bananas or even fun things like chocolate chips for an extra special morning - yum!