Outstanding Oatmeal
While sometimes it may seem that eating healthy is too costly, oatmeal is one of nature's most nutritious foods available - and it's incredibly inexpensive. A 42 ounce canister of old-fashioned oats typically costs less than five dollars, which brings cost to a mere 17 cents per one-cup serving of cooked oatmeal. A two-pound cylinder of Quaker oatmeal costs less per serving than a box or bag of dry cereal. Bulk packaging of oats will lend you even more savings.
Oatmeal: SO Nutritious!
Oatmeal is a good source of fiber, protein, manganese, and selenium. Furthermore, the fiber present in oats and oatmeal, is now linked with lower cholesterol levels.
In a one-cup cooked serving (which starts out as 1/2 cup uncooked), oatmeal contains over 6 grams of protein, plus oatmeal provides Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids - and that's just the beginning.
The ways to enjoy oatmeal are endless. Cook in your milk of choice and a few spices, some fruit or raw sugar for a simple breakfast treat. Regarding the milk, keep the fat out by using skim or at most, 2 percent fat free milk. If you're lactose intolerant, use Lactaid or Soy milk. For a flavor twist many don't think of, add a few spoonfuls of pumpkin for pumpkin pie in a bowl!
Bonus: Oatmeal keeps you full and energized! Learn to love oatmeal and other foods that offer complex carbohydrates like it - you'll be awfully glad you did.
Need to follow a gluten-free diet? Oats, by themselves and out in the field, don't contain any gluten but once processed, this changes things. The mill that hulls, cuts, chops, etc. oats into the form that you buy, has also been doing the same things to other grains such as barley, wheat and so on. As such, when you buy processed oats, you are actually getting oats with gluten contamination from the other grains. The only way to avoid this is to learn what company, or companies, make the oats yet handles nothing but oats. Otherwise consumers will get some gluten in their oatmeal product.
Stored in a cool, dry place, oatmeal will last up to a year. But you do want to buy a brand without any added sugars.
See also:
Overnight Oatmeal Recipes
Cinnamon Oat Pancake Mix
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Ultimate Microwave Oatmeal
