30 Recipes using oats-a cheap pantry staple (2024)

FAQs

What not to mix with oatmeal? ›

High-sugar toppings like chocolate, syrup, and dried fruit

As Best points out, "some of the worst ingredients that are mistakenly added to healthy overnight oat recipes include chocolate sauce, sugar, syrup, and dried fruit."

A cup of cooked oatmeal (1/2 cup of dried oats) contains approximately 30 grams of carbs, which can fit into a nutritious meal plan for people with diabetes. Oatmeal is high in fiber and nutrients but low in saturated and trans fats and sugar and can help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level.

The bottom line

Adding nutritious toppings to oatmeal can boost its flavor and contribute to its health benefits. Try adding fruit for sweetness, veggies or eggs for a savory twist, or sources of protein and fat to make it a balanced meal.

Being a good source of carbohydrates, consuming more due to its high savory nature can make you gain weight instead of helping you in your efforts to maintain or lose weight. Being a bland food, you may tend to add more than the allowed amount of sugar, which may further hamper your weight loss journey.

Disorders of the digestive tract including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines: Avoid eating oat products. Digestive problems that could extend the length of time it takes for your food to be digested could allow oats to block your intestine.

Oatmeal has also been shown to decrease blood glucose in 14 patients with uncontrolled T2DM [11]. In contrast, eggs are identified as a food that might raise plasma LDL-C [12], or that could potentially alter glucose metabolism and lead to diabetes [13].

Compared with the controls, oats intake significantly reduced the concentrations of glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (MD, −0.42%; 95% CI, −0.61% to −0.23%), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (MD, −0.39 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.58 to −0.19 mmol/L), total cholesterol (TC) (MD, −0.49 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.86 to −0.12 mmol/L), low- ...

There is no particular time to eat oats. You can consume the oats at lunch and dinner too. This cereal, however, is consumed in breakfast mostly. It contains fiber, magnesium, complex carbohydrates, etc, which help in keeping your tummy full for a longer time, thus, reducing overeating.

Is oatmeal better with milk or water? ›

Oatmeal is usually tastier with milk than water because milk adds creaminess and flavor. Some people may prefer to cook oats with water, especially those who are lactose intolerant to avoid any digestive issues.

5. A Bowl of Oatmeal May Help Reduce Belly Fat. Another win for oatmeal's soluble fiber: It may help reduce visceral fat, the type of fat in your midsection that hugs your organs and raises your risk of heart disease and stroke — even if your body mass index is deemed normal, notes the AHA.

To follow this 7-day diet, people start off with eating just oatmeal for all three meals of the day for the first two days, followed by eating oatmeal for at least two meals of the day for the next two days. Finally, dieters consume oatmeal for just one meal of the day for the remaining three days.

Oats are super rich in fibre content, which helps you remain full and prevent overeating and binge-eating. Proteins keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent insulin spikes that may lead to fat storage. Oats are super low in calories, making them great for aiding weight loss.

When in doubt, add nut butters for creaminess, sweetness, and plenty of good protein. We like crunchy peanut butter for added texture, almond butter, cashew butter, and even tahini. Throw a chopped banana and a smudge of vanilla paste into stovetop oats for creamy, delicious, banana bread oatmeal.

Greek yogurt – try a dollop on top or my Greek yogurt oatmeal. Nuts and seeds – add almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and/or flaxseed to your oats for some crunch and a touch of protein. Nut or seed butter – top your oats with almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter.

Raw oats can be eaten with milk or water, but it is generally not recommended as they can be difficult to digest and can cause digestive discomfort.

Sure, both oatmeal and eggs are wonderful on their own… but together, they make an even better breakfast.