Making the most of your morning oats

Waking up to a warm bowl of oatmeal in the cold months is a good start to the day. Oatmeal has it’s perks; it’s quick and easy to prepare with a hundred different variations to keep it from getting boring, and it’s fiber content makes it both hearty and healthy, filling up your tummy while keeping your heart ticking strong.

Oatmeal starts with the simplest ingredients: oats and milk (or water). Oats mainly come in three different forms: steel cut, rolled and instant. Steel cut oats are the least processed. They’re the whole oat, which have been chopped into pieces but not rolled. Steel cut oats contain double the fiber content as rolled and instant oats, but they also take longer to cook. Use a stove-top to cook them, which may take at least 20 minutes. If you don’t want to wait that long, a pressure cooker can cook them faster, or a slow cooker can make it so your oatmeal is ready as soon as you wake up!

Rolled oats, also called old fashioned oats, have been steamed, rolled and dried, making them cook quicker than steel cut oats, but a bit slower than instant oats. Use a 1:2 ratio with 1 cup oats to 1 cup milk or water and cook on the stovetop or in the microwave. Rolled oats have 4 grams of fiber per serving, still a high fiber food. Instant oats are the most processed, as they are rolled oats that have been cut into smaller pieces. However, they are still high in fiber, containing 3 grams of fiber per serving, and they can be ready in as little as one minute. There are many ways to flavor oatmeal, such as using apple cider as the liquid and adding spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. No sugar is needed! Or try my favorite combination: banana, peanut butter, and cocoa powder.  Fruit, nuts and flax seed are just a few of the add-ins to give flavor and a nutrient boost to your oatmeal.