We have a startup. We have 7 kids. We have a mortgage and two cars like a normal family. Years ago, we decided to sacrifice many normal comforts to ensure we had enough money to fund our business until we could pay ourselves.

We now draw a salary, but decided to keep those sacrifices in place, as much as possible, as it enables us to occasionally eat out, and have some money in the bank.

One of the ways we saved money was avoiding pre-packaged food. It’s fine when you have one or two kids, but multiply that by 7 and you go broke pretty quick. I count cereal as a prepackaged food. Those boxes really don’t hold much.

We were spending about $30/week on cereal and that was when we only had 5 kids. That’s $1560 per year.

So we switched to the much healthier option of steel cut oats with fresh fruit. It costs me exactly $62.55 with tax every two months. I buy a 50 lb sack at Whole Foods.

At first, the kids absolutely loved it. A few years later, not as much. But now, Sunday is a special day. Cereal for breakfast. Belgian waffles or pancakes and bacon for brunch after church, and a yummy cup of juice.

There was also the time factor to consider. With steel cut oats, the kids get a hot breakfast, without needing me to actually cook it.

I bought an old crockpot at our local thrift store for $5. I prefer the really old crockpots because they are not lined with lead glaze.

Each night, I make the oatmeal in the crockpot and by morning, it’s ready for the kids, no matter what time they wake up.

Steel Cut Oats in the Crockpot

1. Put one part oats to 4 parts-ish water in the crockpot
2. If I’m feeling like a nice mom, I also take one of the leftover apples that are half eaten, peel it, and cut little chunks into the oatmeal.
3. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
4. Turn crockpot on low.
5. Walk away.

Sometimes I only do step one and five. Then the kids rejoice because I forgot to turn on the crockpot and they get to have cereal.

Usually, I do steps 1,2 and 5 and then we throw some fresh berries on it in the morning. Or, when cranberries are cheap, I’ll get those and stick them in the freezer. Those taste fabulous in the oatmeal when you cook them overnight, as do dried cranberries. I don’t recommend cooking bananas in there overnight. It tastes a bit gummy.