The Instant Nature Valley Oats - we love quickies...

Wonderful rainy morning it was today. The kind of rain my Dad will often comment that farmers say 'wets the earth'; ever so light but never really stopping. I was at home then and was hungry, not in the mood to cook but needed something warm and heavy...

Then I remembered...

One of my all time favourite quickies, Nature Valley Instant Oats!

Now Nature Valley has a snack bar I am currently addicted to. So I don't go on and on about how it looks, here's a picture and a general thought I have of it below:

I loved oats as a child, and still do. As a kid, I think it was because we didn't have it often and I got to have more milk with it. Yum! But as an adult, another reason why I like it is that it's actually instant... all you really need is hot water!

From cooking oats in a pan on fire without having to deal with the burnt part at the bottom, to learning the art of doing same in a microwave without having it spill over whilst it boils, I have discovered the joy of "deɛ wo hia ara ne nsuohyeɛ" ("all you need is hot water" written in Asante twi)

Now as some of you also know, I am mildly lactose intolerant, it started rearing its head as I grew older. So if I can avoid milk, I do. Oats being so filling and high in roughage, it often becomes my choice of carbs on my ever ongoing falling and rising fight against unhealthy weight. And talking about this fight of mine, I try to not add white or brown sugar to my meals. So none in tea, porridges, etc if I can help it.

On one occasion when I wanted to apply the two milk sugar rules above, I had a nutribar in hand and was about to prepare oats the 'instant' way. I was like, 'oh, how will this taste if I dropped in the nutribar' and then helllloooooooooooo... my quickie was born to me! The Nature Valley Instant Oats!

So today, I'll use a set of photos to describe how I make it, then talk a bit about why I love it so much.

You ready? I am!

So here goes...

Getting my hot water ready after laying out all I need... a spoon, my instant oats, my Nature Valley nutribar, my air tight container...

Two heaped desert spoons of instant oats

 In goes my nutribars

Then "deɛ me hia ara ne nsuohyeɛ" ("all I need is hot water")

If you're still wondering why I keep saying that then here's the jist before we continue... lol... a popular Ghanaian radio ad was known by its tagline 'deɛ wo hia ara ne nsuohyeɛ' emphasizing how easy it is to prepare the instant beverage it was promoting. And oh how appropriate I feel it is for my Instant Nature Valley Oats right now... lol... 'cos truly, at the end of the day, "deɛ wo hia ara ne nsuohyeɛ".

Ok, commercial break over... (oh my, I love the unintended pun lol)... let's continue with the recipe...

Depending on how thick you want it, just make sure the hot water covers the both the instant oats and the nutribars.

Cover it tightly and allow it to sit for at least 5mins. 

I choose 5mins because I can be sure the steam and hot water have done a great job at making my oats texture-friendly. However, remember, when you try it, just like the amount of hot water you use, timing is absolutely dependant on how you want your oats.

This is how it will look after your 5mins or more... 

So you stir it quickly with a spoon and get this... our Instant Nature Valley Oats!

Honeyed, creamy and delicious...

... And steaming hot too! I tried to capture the steam rising from my instant quickie but Alas! My phone shot isn't good enough for that...

So now that you know how I make one of my quickies, do share with us how feel about it in the comments below. Was it fun? Easy? Not as awesome as you imagined it? Lol... we'll be waiting for your honest feedback.

Now on to why I love this quickie, which adds to my addiction to it and the nutribar itself... #morereasontolove lol...

• It has no milk but still feels creamy and tasty.
• The honey from the nutribar does well to flavour my oats deliciously. The other ingredients in the nutribar add more life to it than just milk and sugar ever did for me.
• I have no dishes to wash aside my air tight container and my spoon if I made it for myself alone.
• It takes only about 5mins to make.
• If I have access to hot water where I want to eat it, say at work, I can pack the measured-out oats and unwrapped nutribar in just the air tight container, add my spoon and I'm good to have a quick meal whenever I need it. C'est bon!
• I'm convinced there are a few more, but since I can't readily recall them, you now have at least 5 reasons why I love this quickie. #allsmiles

So, as usual, I'm really glad you made it to the end of this post. I hope you learnt something new and hope you also enjoyed reading.

Till we meet here at Ndudu tales again, do have an awesome foodie experience whenever you can make one, and let the world know what our quickie was today... yayy! 

It was nice having you back reading our post at Ndudu tales. And if this was your first time, we're happy you took time to read through. If you learnt something new or simply enjoyed this post, do share with others. Also, remember to leave your comments below, we look forward to reading them. We trust you will enjoy the rest of your day, no matter what's left of it!