Welcome to MF! One thing to remember, it won't taste like what you're used to. You have to lower your expectations a little bit, it IS diet food..

There's no set time for soaking, it's whatever your preference is and what works for your schedule. Some people like their soups crunchy and don't soak it at all. I find that it helps the noodles soften. I've found that at least 30 minutes of soaking is best for soups, and you don't need to heat up the water first. I've never soaked oatmeal, so I'll let someone else respond to that part.

For soups, I usually make my soup in the morning before work. I add the water from the faucet and stir, then toss it in my lunch box. I don't refrigerate it and 6 hours later I heat and eat. There have been a couple times when my lunch plans changed after I made my soup, so I tossed it in the fridge and ate it the next day...

For me, I soak oakmeal or soup overnight with cold water. I didn't eat regular oakmeal in my entire life but surprise that I like Medifast Maple & Brown Sugar Oakmeal. I have it every morning. For the soup, I just add a little bit of Tabassco sauce in my soup...

I start most of my foods that require water to be added a minimum of two hours before I plan to eat them. Overnight for most, I just let them sit in containers in the refrigerator...

My wife is also on Medifast and she can't stand the oatmeal, but loves it turned into a muffin. We only add a pinch of baking powder (forget all the other add-ins) and just enough water to make it into a batter. About a minute in the microwave - use some type of small bowl and the oatmeal comes out without the consistency problems. The recipe versions will add more fluff, but don't do that stuff until you are near goal. I find this simple version works perfectly well - but it is a little more dense..

Good luck. For me, I like the crunchy noodles. I don't soak anything but the shakes. Those need a good hour for my taste...

Thanks for the muffin tip - I hate the oatmeal! - was making muffins with a tad of extract added - on the soup & chili - at my mid morning meal I put water in it to soak till lunch, I find that I like it best if it is thick too, not soupy like soup! works well for me.

R..

Hi Laurie,.

Well, I'm only on Day 5, but I very quickly realized that I needed to add more water than they give on the directions for the oatmeal. It turns out best when I boil water and then pour it over the oatmeal a little at a time, mixing it. You'll see it thickens up very quickly and so I just keep adding water and mixing until I get the consistency I like. I really didn't like the oatmeal the first time I tasted it because it was just so thick and pasty with that small amt of water. Now I have the right consistency and I also add an extra dash of cinnamon to liven up the taste. Now, I have grown to like it! Hope that helps.....