Fast-food oatmeal for breakfast?

Which would you choose for breakfast for yourself or your children?

                    




                                   .VS.





Oatmeal is one of the best breakfast foods out there, when prepared correctly.  True oatmeal (the actual oats, not the instant, flavored, pre-packaged variety) is a great source of soluble and insoluble fiber.  The insoluble fiber contains cancer fighting properties while the soluble kind helps to lower the bad cholesterol and slow the digestion of starch therefore avoiding the sharp rise in blood sugar that often occurs after consuming mainstream breakfast cereals, bagels, etc.  These are just a few of the benefits of utilizing this wonderful food.

Recently, fast-food giant McDonald's attempted to put a healthy breakfast item on their menu.  I was proud of them, until I saw the nutritional values of their oatmeal.  The oatmeal without the brown sugar still comes in at 260 calories with 18 grams of sugar, if you have the added brown sugar the sugar grams go to 32 and the calories to 290.  Just to give you an idea of what that means, a regular personal size bag of M&M's contains 31 grams of sugar, and a regular Hershey bar contains 24 grams of sugar.  Essentially, the Golden Arches has turned one of the very best foods you can start your day off with into an overpriced, blood sugar raising junk food!

Why overpriced?  Once serving (9.2 oz) of this glamorized oatmeal will run you between $1.99-$2.39 depending on tax.  I can purchase 5 lbs of organic rolled oats for $5.25, if we divide that into the 9.2 oz portions we're looking at approximately $0.50 per serving.  However, one cup of dry oats ( a serving size) is approximately 3.5 oz which brings it close to $0.15 per serving!  Even if I add in my own cinnamon, honey, raisins, apples, pure maple syrup, etc. I'm still looking at under $1.00/serving and it is so much healthier for you!

Many people complain about the length of time it takes to cook real oatmeal.  It really isn't that bad.  Regular rolled oats take about 10-15 mins on the stove, and steel cut oats take about 45.  The trick is to make a batch large enough to last for a few days and then store it in individual portions and reheat on the stove or in the toaster oven in the morning.  One way to save even more time is to put your water, oats, and any spices in the crockpot overnight and then add your fruit and/or natural sweetener in the morning.  Here is my favorite recipe:

                            Overnight Slow-Cooker Oatmeal

                            1 cup steel cut or regular oats (NOT Quick Oats!)

                                     4 cups water
                                     1  TBS butter
                                    1/2  tsp vanilla extract
                                      1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in crock-pot and set on low for 8 hours (you will need to time it to your wake-up time).  Once we're up and going we all throw in our favorite extras:  raisins, dried cherries, chopped apples, chopped nuts, fresh fruit, a drizzle of pure maple syrup (NOT Mrs. Butterworth!), or local, raw honey. This breakfast will stick with you, is loaded with nutrients, and will  keep you going until it's time for lunch.

You have one life to live;  do well, eat well, be well!

BS, CHC, AADP