You make time for breakfast, but sometimes it is hard to fit it into the busy morning routine. It’s ok to admit that sometimes your breakfast consists of plain oatmeal, no fruit, milk or sweetener. However, a few seconds more and you could have the most amazing, delicious and fulfilling bowl of oatmeal. How is this accomplished without making a full mess in the kitchen?
#1 – ADD FAT
You read that correctly...screaming from the roof tops…ADD FAT. Oatmeal is a carbohydrate, eating a bowl of carbs for breakfast will not satisfy your body until lunchtime. The goal of breakfast should be to meet your nutritional needs until 11:30 AM, this avoids the morning snack time when the donuts and junk food entice you at the office. Adding one tablespoon of any of the following fats, will make a big difference in avoiding hunger pains until lunchtime.
Almond butter
Cashew butter
Peanut butter
Sesame seed butter
Nuts and seeds of any kind
Coconut oil
Coconut butter
Grass fed butter (Grandma used to do this, remember?)
#2 – Add a natural sweetener
Before you cook the oatmeal add a smashed banana, a cooked banana is naturally sweeter. Top your bowl of oatmeal with local raw honey, it is loaded with essential elements, tastes great and for those with seasonal allergies, it is a natural form of immunization.
#3 – Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a very powerful spice, so simple to incorporate into your diet and reduces your cholesterol at a higher rate than Lipitor! (http://www.life-enhancement.com/magazine/article/2210-is-cinnamon-better-than-statin-for-improving-lipids) Better yet, cinnamon does not have any nasty side effects.
Top off your oatmeal with milk, if you live in a state where raw cow’s milk is available (Pennsylvania), by all means add it to your oatmeal. Otherwise, use organic milk or a nut milk (almond, cashew, coconut).
A bowl of straight oatmeal may be quick…but BORING, try adding a healthy fat, sweetener and cinnamon. Your body will thank you and you will be able to ignore those 10:00 AM donuts.
Have additional oatmeal ideas? Please share your favorite oatmeal recipe.