Instant Oatmeal in UK?

I don't know if anyone on here has heard of the Diet Plate, but it comes with a cereal bowl that has all of these different colored lines on it which correspond to different brands of cereal, so for instance if you fill it to the green line with Special K then it's 150 calories or something like that (just made that up so don't quote me on it).

Anywho, the point is, if you fill it to the red line with oats and then to the green line with milk, it will make perfect oatmeal.  That's not in a book anywhere, that was me experimenting because I always used to blow up oatmeal in the microwave.

1 minute in the microwave, stir, then another minute.  Poifect!

I've never tried the Kraft macaroni cheese, just wonder if any one craving/missing that have tried the Batchelor's Pasta 'n' Sauce macaroni cheese, and if this is anything like?

I know this is an old thread, but I must say it definitely does not satisfy the craving! I've tried so many different brands of mac and cheese over here, and aside from not being bright orange, haha, the flavor is just much different... they usually have onion powder in them which makes a big difference, but there is nothing like the deliciously strange Kraft kind. As someone else mentioned, I greatly prefer the Amy's brand mac and cheese, but Kraft is second best... found some on clearance in Asda about nine months back and snached maybe eight boxed of them for about 75p each, and haven't seen it since, anywhere. Perhaps for the better, but I would love to have some on hand for one of those days I crave it.

I have come around to the Oats so Simple brand over here, but it's not quite the same as the instant stuff in the US... there's something lacking in the taste of it. I don't use milk, and I didn't back home, but I wonder if it's something to do with it... it's just less... creamy-cementy, but in a good cementy way? I found some on the go type pots of the same brand during the last weekly shop, saying to just add water, but it contains milk powder which would make it similar to making it with milk... not so bad now I've added frozen blueberries and cinnamon to mine in the mornings here.

I used to love flavoured instant oatmeal. Now, I've come around to the real stuff, so to speak, and it's soooo much cheaper! I pick up a bag of rolled oats from Aldi or Lidl for about 49p or something ridiculously cheap like that. I add half a cup of those to a cup of skimmed milk and cook on the stove top until its thicker and creamy - about 5 minutes or so, and add in whatever else I want while it's cooking - vanilla extract, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, fruit, nuts... you name it. You can use whole milk or other types, but it gets pretty rich, I find skimmed milk makes it more filling from the protein, not too rich, and is better for the diet... lol.

Honestly, I'd never go back to the packet stuff now!    And I was a DIE-HARD Quaker maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal fan.  I think I started about 5 threads about how much I was missing it... haha!

Definitely - the instant packet stuff just tastes so wrong now (and too sweet).  I buy Sainsburys Taste the Difference whole rolled Scottish oats, but I usually cook them in a bowl in the microwave with milk - 5 minutes.  Sometimes I add a really really ripe banana, sometimes I put in raisins or currants, and cinnamon too.  That's usually sweet enough but if I want it sweeter, maybe a pinch of sugar but that's it.

If there its an afro-caribbean shop near you, check it for mac and cheese and the instant oats. I'm always surprised what I find in them - one of the ones around me sells the usual kool-aid, grape soda, mac and cheese but also Malto Meal, some instant hot chocolate I remember and a bunch of other stuff, so you never know what you'll find!

You can find some surprising things at the discount stores, too - I have heard you can get Mac and Cheese boxes from Netto's that are nearly the same as Kraft and ridiculously cheap. Aldi offers some "foreign" foods on rotation - so occasionally you find some things there you wouldn't expect. And the Nuremberger sausages from Lidl taste quite a bit like the little breakfast sausage links you get in America.

I have been having trouble finding whole rolled oats (something similar to old-fashioned oats in the US). I used to buy them at Morrison's, but they haven't carried them for several months now. I found them again at Waitrose a few months ago, and two weeks ago they stopped carrying them too. Today I noticed they were replaced with "Organic Whole Oats," which I bought and am currently eating. They are not whole oats at all. They are porridge oats, all chopped up in little bits. I just can't get used to this different texture. Does anyone know where I can get REAL whole oats?

I buy the Quaker Oats Jumbo Rolled Oats at Waitrose. The box with the Quaker on the front. These are whole oats. Occasionally I see it sold out though. Instead, I bought whole rolled oats in the wheat free section but it was more expensive.

Thanks for the tip! I was always wary of the Quaker Oats boxes here because the actual oats weren't visible. I'll definitely give them a try next time though.