Nutrition Tip July 10 2010
Oatmeal: Good, Better, and Best
In my opinion, there is absolutely no better breakfast than Oatmeal. Now the word “Oatmeal” is a pretty broad term….what I mean by Oatmeal is going to take a bit of a description.
First of all, there are 4 main varieties of Oatmeal:
- Instant Packaged Oatmeal – Not at all recommended, but if you’re in a fix and it’s all you’ve got…go for it.
- Quick Oats – A small step up from the packaged variety, but most of the goodness has been stripped away so that you can cook it in 1 minute.
- Old Fashioned Oats (Regular Oatmeal) – It’s what your Mom used to make and it was definitely a wise choice. This one has much more of the nutrients left inside.
- Steel Cut Oats – Now this is what I’m talking about. Absolutely the best and most nutritious source of oats you’re going to find. Steel Cut are whole grain (the inner part of the oat kernel). Sure they are a bit more of a pain to cook as you have to soak them overnight in order to cook them…but your body will thank you for the extra effort.
If you really want to make your Oatmeal powerful, try adding some hemp hearts as an additional punch of goodness and a great source of protein….or some bran, flax, or wheat germ.
There is a lot more to Oatmeal than I’ve provided here so dig into it a little deeper and find out just how great the “good” Oatmeal can be for you.
Many rice makers can cook steel cut oats very well. I have a Zojirushi model and it’s great. It also has a timer, so I can setup everything before going to bed and have perfectly cooked oatmeal waiting for me in the morning.