Oatmeal for the family

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is often skipped in the rush to get the day started. Even those of us that do take the time for breakfast often go the easy route and grab something laden with sugar and or salt. READ YOUR LABELS. It’s important to have something that is quick, healthy, and tastes great. The answer-oatmeal!


Oats can help lower your cholesterol, which is great especially for anyone with a family history of heart disease. Eating oats can also help control blood sugars over a longer period of time, benefiting those with diabetes. The phytochemicals in oats have shown to decrease chances of hormone related diseases and cancers. Oats can also reduce high blood pressure. One of my favorite things about oatmeal is that I don’t feel hungry 10 minutes after I eat it like I do with cereal. This long-lasting “full feeling” can really help with weight management. (Check out this site for more info on the health benefits of oats http://eatmoreoats.com/health.html)

Ok, yeah, so oatmeal is good for me, so what? I’m not going to lie; my love affair with oatmeal is a much more recent thing. The mushy texture just wasn’t for me for a long time. I thought it was boring. When I was pregnant though, I really needed to find something that I could eat quickly and easily that would hold off the hunger monster for a while.

The great thing about oatmeal is you can take about 15 minutes to make a “mother” batch one day and then you have it for your family the rest of the week. To make the mother batch, the ratio is 2:1; 2c of water to 1c of oats and add a pinch of salt. Just add a little milk when you’re reheating it and you are good to go. I recommend not adding any sugar to the mother batch and just adding it to your individual portion. This will help control sugar content and make it easier to share with the family. (Children from about 8 months and older can eat oatmeal.)

Oatmeal is incredibly versatile so you can toss anything in. My favorite mix-ins are dried cranberries and slivered almonds. My son loves pureed apples and cinnamon, cherries, blueberries, or bananas. I always put some sort of spice like cinnamon, ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice, allspice in it. The possibilities are endless! So whip up a big batch of oatmeal and start your day off with bang!