Clean Eating Gingerbread Oatmeal Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make oatmeal tastier without sugar? ›

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."

If you want to lose weight sustainably, try making oatmeal with steel-cut or rolled oats, Nikolakopoulos says. "Steel-cut oats can absorb more water than instant oats, and they're also superior to instant oatmeal because they are less processed and have a better nutrient profile,” she says.

"Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are especially rich in phenolic compounds, which have been shown to reduce fats in the blood, helping to improve metabolic health," she tells us. Luckily, they also taste great in a range of oatmeal recipes.

“Adding sugar or syrup to an already carbohydrate-rich breakfast can cause it to become imbalanced, as it's high in carbs but low in fat and protein,” says Hultin. Make sure you're using dairy milk, unsweetened nondairy milks, and unsweetened nut butters to restrain added sugar.

“Adding healthy fats also helps avoid spikes.” Shand's toppings of choice? “Add Greek yogurt for its protein and healthy fat content and stir in some nut butter, chia, hemp, flax seeds, ground almonds, or crushed nuts for their healthy fat, protein and high fiber content.

If you want to eat oats, check to make sure your brand really has no added sugar (that means it should have no sugar on the ingredient list, and zero grams of sugar on the label.) The Harvard Nutrition Source has a lot of good advice about the health benefits of oats, which are associated with heart health.

Oats contain phytic acid, an antinutrient that is known to interfere with the absorption of the vitamins and minerals from oats into your body. So, you need to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet to make up for the possible nutritional loss.

Disorders of the digestive tract including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines: Avoid eating oat products. Digestive problems that could extend the length of time it takes for your food to be digested could allow oats to block your intestine.

Is it OK to eat eggs and oatmeal together? ›

Is it ok to eat oatmeal and eggs together? Totally!!! You're getting a balance of macronutrients from the two big players: carbohydrates and fiber from the oats and protein and fat from the eggs. Benefits of Eggs: great source of protein (7g per egg) and dietary cholesterol (cholesterol isn't all bad!)

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.

Eggs = Less Calories

So, eggs have an advantage over oatmeal if you are planning to cut on your calorie intake and shed those extra kilos. Eggs have a nutrient called Choline that helps to reduce belly fat. Studies have shown that people who are overweight are usually deficient in choline, especially women.

Make it your own with healthy mix-ins

Get creative by making your own signature oatmeal with healthy mix-ins like berries, peaches, chopped bananas, nuts, chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla, dried fruit, or nut butter. Experiment with adding the mix-ins during or after cooking the oats.

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.

Add-ins make any oatmeal better-tasting—and they can also make it more nutritious. Topping oatmeal with your favorite fruit boosts the fiber. Adding unsalted nuts offers healthy fats and makes your breakfast more filling.

Studies suggest that cooking oatmeal in a microwave may be better than boiling them over a stove. The microwave cooks food faster. Hence, the nutrient loss may be lower due to shortened cooking time than boiling or cooking over a stove.