Buy the Good Oatmeal

Why daily indulgences matter

Hello, Gorgeous!

I’ve just spent the better part of the past hour scraping congealed steel cut oatmeal goo off my counters. And stove. And cabinets. And the floor. You get the idea…

This morning I was too lazy to take out my overlarge for one Instant Pot and too hungry to wait for my tiny (extremely) slow cooker to work. And so I used the $32 Aroma Rice Cooker I once reviewed for an article. It works in a pinch (or in a dorm room), but is no friend to oatmeal. You know what else I cheaped out on? The oatmeal itself. I was feeling very virtuous and bought Aldi steel cut oats instead of my usual brand. I will regret that purchase until my dying day. Okay, not literally, but the Aldi oats were bad. Very bad. And for an item that brings me so much breakfast joy, the $2 savings overall didn’t add up.

If steel cut oats aren’t part of your day-to-day life, you might be missing the fact that they take a lot of coaxing to cook the perfect batch. Usually it works out just fine. And usually, I buy the best possible oats - Bob’s Red Mill (Why, oh, why do I have the expression Golden Spurtle* seared into my mind for all eternity? IYKYK) or the pricier McCann’s Irish Oatmeal being my top picks.

It’s been a brutal winter thus far. And, I’m having a very tough week, but that’s not what this is about. Why didn’t I buy the best possible breakfast or cook it in an indulgent way? Shrugs. I don’t know. Maybe I was trying to save time or maybe I was trying to save money. Both failed.

I’m not a fan of dupe culture in cosmetics because I really feel that some products are worth splurging on.

And I’m learning that something that seems like a good buy because it’s cheap, might end up ruining your morning or entire day.

I’m not trying to be profound here. I’m simply recalibrating my perceived self-indulgences and realizing that sometimes guilty pleasures require no guilt at all.

What's something you've cheaped out on and regretted? Let’s meet in the comments to discuss!

Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋

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Quick note: I included some affiliate links and from time to time some sponsored products which means I might earn a small commission on sales made through these links, but I also throw in stuff I love just because. Prices are current at publish time.

*In case you, too, spend too much time reading food packaging and were wondering about all things Spurtle related, the Golden Spurtle is an actual award — it's the trophy for the World Porridge Making Championship held annually in Scotland. A spurtle is a traditional Scottish wooden stirring stick for oatmeal. Bob's Red Mill won it. So that's real oatmeal bragging rights if you’re inclined to brag about such things.