You need to Start Eating Oatmeal Tomorrow and 3 Recipes to Try.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but recently I’ve been obsessed with oatmeal! I want to start off by telling you that I have not always felt this way about oatmeal. Let me start by sharing a little bit of my history with oatmeal.
I’m lucky enough to have an adventurous mom and sister so we spent a lot of my childhood going camping and hiking. If you’re not familiar with the menu of most backpackers/hikers/light weight campers, I’ll tell you that a good day most likely starts with a big bowl of oats. My first instinct is still Ewwww as just writing this brings back memories of forcing myself to eat gloopy oatmeal with powdered milk and brown sugar. I wasn’t terribly creative with my dislike for oats so the alterations I made usually looks like less water, more water, more sugar, more sugar, more sugar and maybe some left overs from my trail mix the day before if I hadn’t eaten it all. Don’t let me forget the worst option of all, which was skipping breakfast completely and holding out for a granola bar on the trail.
It should be shared that I was alone in this misery as my mom and sister both love oats and would even eat them at home, another thing I just couldn’t imagine myself doing. Do you relate to any of this?
I will be upfront with you and say that the oats of my childhood have not changed, I still think that gluey oats with powdered milk and brown sugar is not that delicious. Instead I’ve changed the way I’m dressing my oats, it’s kind of my take on the recent smoothie bowl or yogurt bowl trend. I’m also trying to appreciate the benefits I get from this quick, simple, healthy food like:
Staying full all the way until lunch. The combination of protein and complex carbohydrates helps us feel full for longer without a huge caloric impact. Oats are a great source of fiber which expands and fills us up during digestion, this helps keep us satisfied and having regular bowel movements ;) I had to say it! Who doesn’t feel satisfied after a good poop ;)
Cost effectiveness, I know I don’t usually talk about money but I’ll tell you that in my personal life, I’m a pretty frugal lady. I don’t think of this as a bad thing because I’ve almost always had the money saved to do the traveling I want, attend what seems like a lot of bachelorette parties, bridal showers and weddings, and fund the adventures I like to do on the regular (still dreaming of landing some sponsors or scoring some free gear, if you know anyone, hook a girl up!!) But seriously, a serving of oats with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit can cost less than $1.50! I’ll leave you to dream about the possibilities…
Versatility, spice up your life! (yes, I’m from the Spice Girl generation!) I’m always encouraging my clients to eat a variety of different foods for both enjoyment and nutritional benefits. I’m going to share some of my favorite recent discoveries with you below.
Efficiency, oats cook quickly! I don’t recommend choosing the flavoured instant oatmeal because it’s loaded with sugar but choosing plain or quick oats can be very quick as well. Choosing steel cut oats will have a lower glycemic impact but will take about 30 minutes to cook. Since I’m not worried about diabetes, I opt for the convenience of Quick or 3 Minute oats. You can even make your oats in a mason jar, wait 3 minutes to add your toppings, screw on the lid and hit the road!
Peanut Butter Jelly Oats
1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1 cup Hot Water
Toppings:
2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries
1/4 cup 2% Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal
1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1 cup Hot Water
Toppings:
1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries
2 Tbsp Camino Hot Chocolate Powder
2 Tbsp Sliced Almonds
1/2 cup 2% milk
Tropical Mango Oatmeal
A new and healthy tropical way of enjoying the classic breakfast dish, oatmeal!
ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 Diced Fresh Mango
- 1/2 cup 2% Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
instructions:
- Combine oats with boiling water in your mason jar. Cover or screw lid on. Let stand for 3 minutes or as directed on on packaging.
- Top oatmeal with diced mango, Greek yogurt and shredded coconut
NOTES:
Feel free to use whatever portion of oatmeal that you are used to.
I really enjoyed writing this post for you about all the delicious oatmeal recipes I’ve discovered. Feel free to use these recipes as a guide and change the portion of oats to whatever you're used to.
I’d love to hear about what you plan on trying at home. If it helps you get inspired, take a look at these cute mason jars and other accessories that can make your oats seem fancy!
-Megan
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