I cooked three batches of the Oats today.
All three with the Instant Apples and Cinnamon base and one (of those three) made with an extra half cup of Oats. I was liberal with the sprinkling of cinnamon sugar as I sat down to eat it with the kids.

My daughter (three) said she loved it though it took her about forty painstaking minutes to go through the stuff; my son (seven) said he hated it before tasting it, tasted it and said he hated it; and then spent the next forty minutes bemoaning his life-span of seven years that it would have to end by eating this gruel.

He may not have used those words but his distant, vacant eyes could be filled with volumes oats-loathe.

I should be applauded for my resolve: my smile didn’t crack once.

Yes, it was awful. For some reason the Oats defy taste; they force flavor to an outer veneer.