I never thought I'd say this but I love oatmeal! I not only love oatmeal but I look forward to that warm feeling in my tummy and the whole grain goodness wafting from the bowl as I lift the lid off.
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between slow cooked oatmeal (I prefer steel cut myself) and instant or quick cooked oatmeal? When your grandma said "Oatmeal will stick with you." she was right... but only if she was speaking of the slow cooked version due to it's lower glycemic index over instant oatmeal. A glycemic index is a measure how quickly a particular food increases your bood sugar within a two hour period. Instant oatmeal has already been broken down and processed which makes it easier for your body to digest, hence it's higher glycemic index. Also most instant oatmeal's are loaded with sugars and other 'junk' such as sodium making them the lesser choice.
Lots of us are on a time crunch and have used the excuse "I don't have time to make breakfast!". I'm a huge advocate of preparing your meals ahead of time. You can make more than one days worth of oatmeal at a time and divvy it up into appropriate serving-sized containers. You will not loose any of the nutritional content and now you have breakfast on the go! I make my oatmeal on Sunday afternoon for the entire week. I have no excuses for not eating a healthy breakfast!
Now for the fun part.. what do you like to add to your oatmeal to perk it up? My favorite addition is fresh plump blueberries and ripe sweet strawberries. I've also tried apples with cinnamon, honey and Truvia. I have recently tried a new sweetener, Raw Coconut Crystals. It is a low glycemic sugar alternative. I really like it. You can find it in the health section of the grocery. Sometimes I will stir in protein powder or Benefiber. I tried chocolate protein powder once thinking it was going to be similar to Malto Meal. The answer to that question would be ----> a big fat no! :) Most recently I've gotten a little daring and tried a combo such as sugar-free caramel syrup and Udi's Cranberry granola. Here is the grand daddy of all wild ideas...I used about a half container of Amaretto coffee creamer (those single serving size ones you get at the coffee counters) and then tossed some Udi's Cranberry granola on top. How loud can I mumble "UMM UMMMM!" through my mouth full of oatmeal!! That was delish!! But as a disclaimer, this is not what I would call healthy lol. Good tasting, but not good for you. :) It says online a serving of this creamer has 40 cals! So I will stick with my all time favorite.. fresh blueberries and strawberries!!
What ideas do you have for adding a little something extra to your oatmeal? Please comment below!
