Oats make a great breakfast option, especially when you're wanting something warm in the cooler months. They've been found to be more filling than breakfast cereals and they're a cheaper option too!
Oats also have a lot of health benefits. They're a good source of soluble fiber, which helps to lower cholesterol. They're also a prebiotic food which means they help feed the good bacteria in our gut making them a great food for gut health.
The majority of our immune system lives in our gut so it's good to eat these types of foods to stay healthy!
There's different kinds of oats. They all start out as oat grouts, which is the least processed form. These actually have the most health benefits.
Next is steel cut oats which I love making on the stove top and adding frozen fruit (like wild blueberries or bananas) and nut butters to.
Rolled oats are probably the most popular oats and fall behind the steel cut for benefits. These are used a lot for overnight oats which make an easy breakfast in the morning. You can find an overnight oat recipe here.
Quick oats cook the fastest so if you didn't meal prep your overnight rolled oats, these cook the fastest. But these do have the least amount of health benefit. Don't stress too much about that though, because no matter which oats you like best, they all make a healthier breakfast than heavily processed cereal.
Oat milk can be made with rolled oats. Just add one cup of oats to two cups of water and blend for about 30 seconds. You can add in one to two dates or 1 tablespoon of maple syrup for sweetness as well. After blending, use a mesh strainer to strain it.
When shopping for oats, it's important to buy organic as they've shown to have a high amount of pesticides and other chemicals on them when they're not organic.
If staying gluten-free is important to you, make sure to check for that on the packaging.
Be sure to watch next week to see one of my favorite recipes for oats. It's a baked oatmeal recipe that the whole family will love!
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