i eat em plain as well. instant oat taste horrible in my opinion. after youve tried steel cut oats, youll never go back. lol. it takes me about 45 minutes to make but it last me the whole week, i just put servings in to ziplock bags and freeze them. i also add a few tsp of cinnamon while its cooking. has that nutty oat taste, ive been eating it for the past year and love it.