Old Wessex Irish Style Oatmeal (5 min to cook - steel cut takes 30 min to cook!!!)
Tbsp Crushed Flax Seed
Tbsp Wheat Germ
Whole Honey (real maple syrup is good too)
Raspberries or Bananas
The "instant" oatmeal (Quaker, etc.) is just yuck. Flavored instant oatmeal is loaded with salt and sugar. Hotel oatmeal on business trips is overcooked, and tastes like wallpaper paste - I just eat eggs and bacon. I've never been a cold cereal fan.
I know what you mean about taste. Part is buying good quality oatmeal, part is getting away from taste of high fat, high salt foods. Also, you need a good pot to cook the oatmeal. Inexpensive "Revere Ware" type pots don't spread heat evenly, causing oatmeal to burn, stick, irritate you or your spouse when cleaning. Get a good All-Clad pot or equivalent.