Growing up, oatmeal was a soggy bowl of mush foisted upon us every morning! And so no matter how much we hear it’s healthy, it just doesn’t seem worth eating a bowlful of oatmeal!
But then our doctor tells us things like
- Oats are an easy inexpensive way to add whole grains to your day
- Oats lower LDL cholesterol
- Oats reduce blood sugar and insulin response
- Oats encourage good bacteria in the digestive tract
So we asked, “Where does eating Merry Berry Cheesecake Oat Bars count on the health barometer?”.
And well, you can probably know her answer to that question.
We aren’t reverting back to childhood anytime soon and adulthood seems to be here to stay, so we decided to give a breakfast bowl of oats another try.
Four Ways to Avoid Soggy Mushy Oatmeal
Determined to create a healthy oatmeal habit, we dove into figuring out how to avoid the soggy bowl of mush from our childhoods.
- Do not cook oats in milk. We’re not sure of the science behind this switch, but it made a big difference. If you’d like milk in your oats, add it after they are cooked.
- Pick the right oats. Quick oats are very fine and may be the culprit behind those mushy oats we remember. Old Fashioned oats cook fairly quickly, but their texture is better. Steel Cut oats are whole unrolled, unprocessed oats and their texture reminds us of brown rice. They do take 20 minutes to cook instead of the five minutes old fashioned oats require, so if you have a bit of time in the morning try them out as they are delicious.
- Do not overcook your oats. We can’t stress this enough! It’s okay for oats to have a bit of bite to them.
- Spice them up! Seriously, add some flavor! And, don’t forget salt. Just a pinch of salt really makes a difference in the flavor of oatmeal.
In the spirit of number 4, we’ve created the following recipes that are yummy on top of being healthy! Each one is an easy way to add one super healthy meal to your day.
Recipes
Each recipe starts with 1 cup of water to 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats and just a pinch of salt per serving.
It’s easy to double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. Dump everything into a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and cook for a couple of minutes or until cooked to the texture you like for your oatmeal.
If you’d like to make this in your microwave, add everything to a medium bowl, and hit that 2 minute button. Cook another 30 seconds if needed.
SpiceScription
Oatmeal 4 Ways
Oatmeal 4 Ways
Mango Lassi Oats
Comfort In a Bowl Oats
Hump Day Oats
Oats Are My Jam
Instructions
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Mango Lassi Oats
Our first oatmeal recipe is based on a favorite drink/dessert/snack--the Mango Lassi.
To one basic boring bowl of cooked oatmeal (1 cup water, 1/2 cup of oats, and a dash of salt) add:
1/4 teaspoon ground Cardamom
1/2 cup mango (frozen or fresh)
1/4 cup of cream or yogurt
Drizzle of honey
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Comfort In a Bowl Oats
Cinnamon sugar really can do a lot in the comfort category! What makes this bowl of oats special is the topping. We sliced up a pear and apple and sauteed them in butter* with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar just until they turned a lovely golden brown.
To our cooked oatmeal (1 cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, dash of salt), we stirred in:
1/2 teaspoon Baking Spice
1 tablespoon Cinnamon Sugar
And then topped it with the sauteed pear and apple.
*If butter isn't your thing, coconut oil works just as well!
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Hump Day Oats
Happy Hump day? Sometimes right in the middle of the week, the desire for healthy eating wanes. This recipe was created exactly for those times! What could be more motivating than chocolate!? The raw cacao in this recipe is full of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese as well as tryptophan which helps our brain to make serotonin--the happiness neurotransmitter. Topping this bowl with a quality dark chocolate, only adds to all this goodness.
Into those plain ol' boring oats (1 cup water, 1/2 cup oats, dash of salt) goes :
a healthy dollop of sunflower butter or your favorite seed or nut butter
1 tablespoon Cacao
A bit of Honey
Just a bit of hope for an awesome day
and Garnish with your favorite chopped dark chocolate and sunflower seeds.
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Oats Are My Jam
This recipe is just about too easy to even call a recipe, but we didn't want to not share this simple hack. It's just oats and jam--that's it. This combination is the easiest way to add a fruity and just a bit sweet flavor to your oats.Into those plain ol' boring oats (1 cup water, 1/2 cup oats, dash of salt) goes: a dollop of jam!
We especially enjoy Laura Ann's Black Berry Bay Leaf Jam or Laura Ann's Maple Pumpkin Butter stirred into our oatmeal, but really any of your favorite jams would work!
Note
We hope this motivates you to add a bowl or two of oatmeal to your life! We think your doctor, body, and taste buds will thank you!
You can always find the spices and products found in these recipes at Spice-Topia.com
Read more about the health benefits of including cacao in your diet at https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cocoa-powder-nutrition-benefits