Magic Reindeer Food

There is this stuff in stores called Magic Reindeer food and the story goes that you leave Milk and Cookies for Santa, and outside you sprinkle this Reindeer food for a special treat for the Reindeer. (The Reindeer food is essentially oats and glitter, and it's super easy to make at home... but glitter can be harmful to wildlife so it is recommended to use edible glitter or decoration sugar instead). And if you are really creative (or silly) you can leave raisins or chocolate covered raisins out on Christmas day to look like Reindeer poop...

Anyway, I decided to make my own Reindeer food.... for myself to eat! It's super easy and can be really delicious as well. This would be a cute idea for feeding your little ones at home around Christmas time.

 I topped mine with a reindeer cutout for an added bit of fun.

What you need:

• Oatmeal
• Water (or Milk if you like it more)
• Decorative Sugar (Colorful is best. Can also use Edible Glitter)
• Raisins (or other dried fruit. I used Golden Raisins and Prunes)
• Cinnamon (or any flavors you like. I used Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Vanilla Extract)

*First, flavor your water (or milk) with cinnamon and other flavorings. I used cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.
*Bring the water to a boil and add your oatmeal. Cook to desired texture. I prefer my oatmeal to be on the dryer side so I cook until all the water is absorbed. If you like your oatmeal soupy then add more liquid.
*Add the chopped or whole dried fruit and mix well. I added whole golden raisins and chopped prunes.
*Spoon the mixture into a bowl and top with decorative sugar. Do not stir the sugar in until you are going to eat because the sugar will melt and it won't look sparkly and magical anymore. In fact, the sugar will blend into the oatmeal and turn the oatmeal whatever color your sugar was. So adding the sugar right before serving is the best option.

To make the optional Reindeer cutout you need:

• Tortilla
• Mini Reindeer cookie cutter
• Water (or melted butter if you are going to eat it)
• Ground Cinnamon or Cocoa Powder (Add sugar if you are going to eat it)

*First cut out the Reindeer with the cookie cutter.
*Then wet your finger or a food safe paintbrush with water. Wet the top of the tortilla until just damp.
*Sprinkle on the cinnamon or cocoa powder evenly.
*Decorate your oatmeal with a cute reindeer.
-This is purely for decoration, but if you want to eat it you can use melted butter instead of water and mix some sugar into the cinnamon before you sprinkle it over the top of the tortilla.

I did not give you specific measurements for the recipe because everyone likes their oatmeal a different way, and this recipe can be used for one person or 100 people. As long as you know how to cook oatmeal you should be able to make this recipe.
You can use plain instant oatmeal for this recipe too. Just add the flavorings and dried fruit after stirring in the hot water, then proceed as normal

Enjoy!