9 Oatmeal Recipes to Start Your Day with Healthy Whole Grains (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to eat oatmeal? ›

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.

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."

Try Greek yogurt, which has about 13 grams of protein per cup or peanut butter, which also packs in fiber and healthy fats. Consider adding a couple of hardboiled eggs on the side or mixing them in while you're cooking, which adds extra protein without tasting funky.

Finally, being on a weight loss journey doesn't mean your food has to be bland—and enjoying oatmeal doesn't mean only eating oats. "Using the cooked oatmeal as a base, you can create your bowl by incorporating various add-ins like egg, avocado, cheese, vegetables, and spices of your choice," says Nikolakopoulos.

Both oatmeal and granola make for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, but the winner for us is granola—the added nuts, seeds, and dried fruits give you a source of fiber and healthy fats that oatmeal can't quite compete with.

Compare 100 calories of baked potato to 100 calories of oatmeal, and you find a bit less protein (3 grams vs. 4), a bit more starch (18 grams vs. 16) and a similar mineral profile (potatoes have more potassium, but oats have more selenium). But potatoes beat out oats in just about every vitamin, as well as fiber.

This suggests oats can be consumed every day. However, since oats are high in fiber, you may notice changes in your stool's appearance and the frequency at which you poop. Consuming an excess amount of oats may also lead to decreased nutrient absorption.

Oats can cause gas and bloating. To minimize side effects, start with a low dose and increase slowly to the desired amount. Your body will get used to oat bran and the side effects will likely go away. When applied to the skin: Lotion containing oat extract is possibly safe to use on the skin.

This protein-packed healthy breakfast recipe gets a touch of sweetness from apple and crunch from walnuts. Feel free to pick your favorite fruit (try berries or pears) and nuts (maybe almonds or pistachios) to personalize your healthy oatmeal.

What can I add to my oatmeal to make me full? ›

A bowl of oatmeal is all it takes

Studies show, Connolly explained, that soluble fiber can help supress your appetite — thus helping to reduce visceral fat. “Together, whole grain foods and a Mediterranean diet can help with weight loss and ultimately visceral fat,” she says.

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.

Although the benefits of oats are well-documented, you can get extra nutritional perks by eating them raw. The reason: Oats retain more of their nutrients when they're not exposed to heat, providing you with maximum benefits.

Raw oats provide plant-based protein, soluble fiber (beta-glucan), and nutrients that help lower cholesterol, benefit heart and gut health, control blood sugar, promote weight loss, and improve digestion. Cooked oats deliver fewer nutrients, but they come with both pros and cons, just like raw oats do.

Milk is rich in fats, calcium, and Vitamin D that complements the nutrients in oats. Thus oats cooked in milk have benefits over oats cooked in water. Milk has fats, calcium, and Vitamin D that is normally absent in processed oats. Apart from adding a flavour, it also helps in keeping your muscles and bones healthy.

Oatmeal's high fiber content and prebiotic qualities may benefit your body in more ways than one. Making oatmeal a regular part of your menu can potentially lower your disease risk, help your gut health thrive, make bowel movements easier and keep you feeling fuller for longer.