This morning I really wanted to get oats onto the menu for breakfast. . . Ever since I have been sick I have sort of lost the taste for oats, oat bran and oatmeal. I have no idea why! But I know that when you are working out, oatmeal is really good for you. I read somewhere that oatmeal can be good for your joints… and now that I am working out a lot since being sick, I figured good joints would be a good thing 🙂

There are many reasons that oatmeal is good for you. Here are some fun facts about oatmeal:

Oats contain soluble fiber that can help lower your cholesterol  

Oatmeal is low fat and most oats you find in the grocery store are all natural (we all know what a rare thing finding all natural things are these days) read the ingredients. It should say “rolled oats”.

Oats have a low gylcemic index and oats are a complex carbohydrate (rather than a piece of white bread that is a simple carbohydrate). This means that oatmeal turns into sugar slowly and won’t make your blood sugar skyrocket. This also means that oatmeal stays in your stomach longer, which is why you are able to stay full for longer. It takes a while to digest!

Oats also contain phytic acid, which might help bodies from preventing cancer.

Eating oatmeal helps you burn fat…

The soluble fiber in oatmeal might help reduce high blood pressure.

Oatmeal (and oats) are a nutrient dense food. Vitamin B and folate help make oatmeal a heart healthy food. The fact that oatmeal is low sodium also helps. (I try to not add salt to oatmeal, especially when I make it with a combination of milk and water [milk has sodium] and when I am going to top it with a little bit of peanut butter [my peanut butter has salt added to it] If you are adding foods to your oatmeal that already contain sodium, you do not need to add salt to your mixture!)

So, you can see there are a lot of reasons to eat oatmeal. Thankfully I was able to make myself cook some up this morning.

I added a little bit of a banana, a handful of raisins, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla. I topped it with a small pinch of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of Teddie.

End result was quite good:

I love my new bowl from the Crate and Barrel outlet:

I think I’m going to get ready to go to the gym before an afternoon of watching UNC and Duke play in the NCAA Tournament. 😀 Happy Sunday morning everyone!