Badasses who are successful in their weight loss and maintenance strategies often have a few “favorite” healthy foods that they eat every day, or nearly every day. These are the foods they depend on as part of their healthy lifestyle: A favorite cereal for breakfast, a delicious chicken recipe, a protein bar or a special post-workout snack.
Me? I’m addicted to my oatmeal. Seriously, sign me up for a 12-step program, put me in a documentary with black and white montages or book me on Dr. Phil. (“Today on Dr. Phil – Oatmeal Addicts and the People Who Love Them!”)
It's versatile, adaptable, portable and extremely nutritious. It’s a comforting breakfast routine that fills me up and gets my day started right. (Badass Confession: When I travel for business and have no idea what the breakfast options will include, I pack sandwich bags with raw oats, high fiber cereal, Splenda and cinnamon already mixed together. Add hot water, stir, and serve!)
Oatmeal is one of the earth’s original super foods. Oats are a natural whole grain -- low in calories, high in fiber and proven to help prevent heart disease and high cholesterol. They are rich in magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, thiamine, and pantothenic acid. Oats contain phytonutrients such as polyphenols, phytoestrogens, lignins and vitamin E.
But enough of the science geek talk. The best part is, oatmeal can help you discover your best Badass body. Woot Woot!
Unlike many other carbohydrates, oats digest slowly, so they have little impact on your blood sugar. Many breakfast foods such as cereals, high-sugar yogurts, pastries or dairy products spike your blood sugar and leave you hungry just a few hours later, but a full serving of oatmeal can keep you full until lunchtime. AND oats are natural, so you aren’t eating any of that hard-to-pronounce fake food – blech!
All varieties of oats are healthy (even those little instant packets, though I recommend the lower sugar varieties) but old fashioned rolled oats are the least processed and the easiest to adapt.
All right, so, let’s say you are a Badass veteran and all this loving on oatmeal really isn’t really anything new to you. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you KNOW oatmeal is good for you… but… eh, you think it’s kind of bland and gruel-like, or you hate it because your great Aunt Cecilia who smelled like cats used to make you eat it every Tuesday. That's cool.
But if you have only tried it once or twice, give it another shot. You might be surprised! For all you oatmeal newbies and for the veterans, here are my Badass Foodie suggestions for making your daily bowl totally Badass:
It’s All About the Mixers!
Step 1 : Start with your basic formula
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup water or nonfat milk (milk adds a creamy texture and a few grams of protein, but also adds about 45 calories - decide what’s best for you!)
Combine in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 3 – 5 minutes. OR, if you are feeling particularly domestic, combine in a medium saucepan and simmer on medium heat.
Step 2: As it’s cooking, add your self-styled goodies
- Very Berry Oats: Add blueberries, raspberries or blackberries (frozen will work just fine) and sweetener to taste – mix to combine. This adds amazing nutritional value, as berries contain tons of antioxidants, which help you look younger, and they also have proven anti-inflammatory properties.
- Fluffy Banana Oats: Try “whipping” some thinly sliced bananas into your oats while they are cooking or still warm. Slice a half of a banana extremely thin, then whisk the oats to emulsify and break up the bananas, which will suspend the oats in a lighter texture. This works best with milk, and may sound crazy, but give it a try – it’s all about the speed at which you “whip” the bananas into the oats.
- Nuts and Nut Butter: I love adding peanut butter, almond butter or chopped pecans to oatmeal. Even a teaspoon of almond butter adds great flavor AND a good dose of healthy unsaturated fats.
- Pumpkin Pie Oats: (This Badass Foodie’s personal favorite!) I love using canned pumpkin in my oats and in other cooking. It’s truly amazing stuff, with only 40 calories in a ½ cup serving, which is filling and has the amazing nutritional benefits of the potassium, Vitamin A and fiber. I add ½ cup of pumpkin, 2 packets of low calorie sweetener (I use Stevia, but some prefer Splenda) and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg. YUM! It’s warm, filling, comforting and really tasty.
- Other Cereals or Granolas: I often add All-Bran or another healthy cereal to my pumpkin or banana oats, as I like the “crunch” of the cereals with the creaminess of the oatmeal.
- Chocolate: We all know that dark chocolate is good for us (in moderation, of course) so why not add it to your breakfast for a bit of variety? Raw, natural cacao powder is available in many health food stores, but you can always use Hershey’s baking cocoa as well. (Just be sure to add some sweetener!) Add cocoa to the oat mixture or top with semi-sweet dark chocolate bits. Throw a teaspoon of nut butter in there and you’ve got delicious peanut butter cup oats!
- The other possibilities are endless: Dried fruit such as cranberries, apricots and raisins; fresh fruit such as peaches or apples; dried coconut; a scoop of protein powder; cinnamon; even cottage cheese.
STEP 3: Sweeten and add Toppers to taste (optional)
- Sweeteners:I like to add 1 to 1 ½ packets of an all-natural sweetener to my daily pumpkin oats, but do what works best for you. I do recommend some amount of sweetener, as oats themselves can be rather bland, and many of the add-ins, such as pumpkin or peanut butter, can be bitter. Some options: Honey, Stevia, Agave Nectar, Molasses, or Splenda.
- Toppers: Just for fun! Top your oats with berries, nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, granola, extra cinnamon or nutmeg, or cookie/muffin crumbs.
The other great thing about oats: They are everywhere, even when you travel! Imagine my delight when, during a freezing day in downtown D.C. last week, I discovered a corner café that sold oatmeal and let you add the toppings! (Starbucks now has a similar option, a much better choice than their sugary pastries or pound cake.) I topped mine (pictured at left) with lots of cinnamon, granola, a little brown sugar, chocolate chips and chopped walnuts! That was admittedly a bit of a calorie splurge. But did I mention it was 17 degrees and snowing?!
Is my love for oatmeal a borderline addiction? Is it a sickness? Perhaps. But sometimes enjoying your healthy, Badass lifestyle is all about changing your perspective –- and spicing up your oatmeal recipe!
