You Should Be Eating Savory Oatmeal For Breakfast. Here's Why
We've all heard the endless benefits of eating oatmeal, whether in a Quaker oats commercial or through a friend who attributes their great health to a daily bowl. If we're talking about the oats themselves, it's true! Loaded with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber to keep you full, oats are a great good that can even help control blood sugar levels (via Healthline). But just because the oats are doing all the good work, doesn't mean you can top them with sugar, jam, and whipped cream and expect all the same benefits. Likewise, Active Beat points out that most prepackaged oatmeal mixes are disguised as a healthy option but are often loaded with sugar.
While we are all for enjoying delicious foods, moderation is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Even if you're not having pancakes every day, it doesn't mean that your deluxe dessert oatmeal is much better. Better Nutrition points out that by starting the day with sugary foods, you are far more likely to have a blood sugar crash a few hours later and choose unhealthy options to satisfy your sudden sugar cravings. To counteract this, start the day with foods that will keep you full until lunchtime, and save the sugar for the occasional treat — such as having savory oats for breakfast.
What should you be adding to your oats?
We love adding fresh fruits and warming spices to our oats, but for a switch from a sweet start, we recommend trying some savory recipes. Farwin from the food blog Love and other Spices uses chicken stock to make her oatmeal, which already adds a ton of nutrients to your bowl of oats. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, vegetable stock or unsweetened plant-based milks are good alternatives. On her blog, Farwin includes five oatmeal recipes with global influences for a delicious start to your day. Whether you're in the mood for Chinese, Indian, English, Sri-Lankan, or Mediterranean, she has you covered.
If you'd rather go with a simpler take, Eat This, Not That! has 20 recipes for savory oats that will keep you fed for weeks. We love the twist on avocado toast by adding it to oats instead of bread and throwing an egg on top for an extra boost. Think of your oats as a grain bowl and top them with a veggie burger and spinach. You can even add some bacon if swapping white toast for oats already seems like a big sacrifice. Whatever you choose to add to your savory oats, you'll be converted in no time.