The best breakfast food, it’s amazing benefits and unique uses!

By Erica Laudon F.H.

Contrary to what you may have heard, eating breakfast isn’t necessary for everyone.

However, skipping breakfast could be better than eating an unhealthy breakfast.

A nutritious, well-balanced breakfast can give you energy and could prevent you from eating too much throughout the day.

When it comes to the perfect breakfast meal, oatmeal is as close to perfect as you can get for a breakfast food. It's a whole food with one ingredient—oats. A hearty bowl gives you energy to power through your morning, fills you up with complex "good" carbohydrates and can be prepped the night before (lifesaving for busy mornings), takes on a variety of toppings and flavors, and is pretty cheap! And not to mention, oatmeal fits into a variety of diets and eating patterns, whether you're vegan, gluten-free, trying to lose weight or eating to manage diabetes or heart disease.

Mornings are busy, so for a breakfast food to be the best, it needs to be fast. Cook up a pot of oats and portion them out for a few different mornings. Or use quick-cooking oats for breakfast in less than 5 minutes. Save even more time in the morning by making overnight oats in mason jars to grab and go on your way out the door. Totally in a bind? Buy plain instant oatmeal or look for flavored varieties (with no more than 9 grams of sugar per serving) to stash in your kitchen cabinet or desk drawer.

Oatmeal is made of hulled oat grains-grouts that either have been milled, steel-cut, or rolled. Ground oats are also called “white oats”. Steel oats are known as “course oatmeal”, “Irish oatmeal” or “pinhead oats”.

Oat groats, the most intact and whole form of oats, take a long time to cook. For this reason, most people prefer rolled, crushed or steel-cut oats. Instant (quick) oats are the most highly processed variety. While they take the shortest time to cook, the texture may be mushy. Oats are commonly eaten for breakfast as oatmeal, which is made by boiling oats in water or milk. Oatmeal is often referred to as porridge. They're also often included in muffins, granola bars, cookies and other baked goods.

Rolled oats can either be thick or thin and may be “old fashioned”, ”quick” or” “instant”

It’s a gluten free whole grain that is a great source of minerals, vitamins, fiber and antioxidants.

Oats are rich in carbs and fiber but also higher in protein and fat than most other grains. They are high in many vitamins and minerals. 0ats are rich in carbs and fiber but also high in protein and fat more than most other grains. They are very high in many vitamins and minerals. They also are high in antioxidants and very beneficial plant compounds called polyphenols. The most remarkable is a unique group of antioxidants referred to as avenanthramides, which are almost solely found in oats. Avenanthramides may help lower blood pressure levels by increasing the production of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is responsible for dilation of blood vessels and leads to better blood flow.

In addition, avenanthramides have anti-inflammatory and anti-itching effects. Ferulic acid is also found in large amounts in oats and is also an antioxidant.

Avenanthramides can help reduce blood pressure and provide other benefits.

Oats contain powerful soluble fiber called Beta-Glucan. Beta-Glucan partially dissolves in water and forms a thick, gel-like solution in the gut.

Benefits include:

Reduced LDL and total cholesterol levels:

Several studies have shown that the beta-glucan fiber in oats is effective at reducing both total and LDL cholesterol levels.

Reduced blood sugar and insulin response:

Oats may help lower blood sugar levels especially in people who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes. It can improve insulin sensitivity . These effects are mainly attributed to beta-glucan ability to form a thick gel that delays emptying of the stomach and absorption of glucose into the blood.

Increased feeling of fullness:

Eating foods that are more filling can help you eat fewer calories and can contribute to weight loss. The delay in time that it takes your stomach to empty the food, the beta-glucan in oatmeal may increase your feeling of fullness.

Increased growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract:

Beta-glucan may also promote the release of peptides YY (PYY), a hormone produced in the gut in response to eating. This satiety hormone has been shown to lead to the reduced calorie intake and may decrease your risk of obesity.

Oats can be found in numerous skin care products. Makers of these products often list finely ground oats as “colloidal oatmeal”. In 2003 the FDA approved colloidal oatmeal as a skin protective substance.

7 great uses for oatmeal

1. Equal parts of oat flour and baking soda for a simple recipe for dry shampoo.
2. Used as a flour substitute. Add oatmeal to a blender or food processor to achieve a fine powder. Oat flour can also be added to runny soups and dips to help thicken them up.
3. Covering spilled oil with uncooked oats for 5-10 minutes soaks up the mess
4. Oatmeal can be added to ground beef to stretch the grocery budget a little further. Oatmeal has a mild enough flavor that it won’t be noticed.
5. A cheesecloth or sock filled with oat flour and fastened over the bathtub faucet for a soothing bath that helps with sunburns, chicken pox, and poison ivy.
6. Cold oatmeal added to a burn can provide soothing relief.
7. Exfoliate your skin with coarsely ground oat flour.

Nature's Warehouse carries bulk rolled oats in a few options

Regular Rolled Oats - 2lb or 8lb options 

Sprouted Rolled Oats - 2lb or 8lb options 

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