Hurray for spring cleaning! The instant oatmeal pouches that lingered on our conference table for several days (er, weeks) after the taste tests now live in harmony in one Giant Oatmeal Box (GOB). We recently plowed through GOB and spotted some fancy-looking packets from the Better Oats brand, which won the Apple Cinnamon division, in Blueberry Muffin and Lavish Dark Chocolate. Hello microwave. More

This marks the third (and final, phew) piece in our instant oatmeal tasting series. This is probably when many of you stop being jealous of our taste tests. Maple Brown Sugar, let's just call it MBS, is typically the first to go in the instant oatmeal variety pack. Can it ever taste like the good stuff from sap-flowing trees? The market has expanded beyond our childhood pal Quaker, but are any of the newcomers an improvement? The SE quest to see if decent instant oatmeal exists continues. More

Earlier this week, we told you the results from our "Original" flavor instant oatmeal tasting. Going the instant route is a desperate move, and as many of you pointed out, one that can be avoided. But for whatever reason (lack of caffeine, camping trip, masochism) some of us eat instant oatmeal. For the Apple Cinnamon flavor round, we were curious if any brands actually tasted like real apples. The kind from trees. Or does it all taste like the McDonald's fried apple pie filling? Find out the results. More