If you feel like your breakfast routine has been turned upside down, eating at varying hours or not eating because you had to jump on a zoom call, you are not alone. It’s time to regroup. Sometimes, changing one meal and one habit can be the start of getting back on track. Choosing too many goals at once can feel overwhelming but focusing on one simple goal, such as eat oatmeal for breakfast, is totally doable. Assuming you like oats…

There are different types of oatmeal, I prefer using quick rolled oats or Old Fashioned oats.

The way the whole oat groat has been processed affects the characteristics and cooking time of the oatmeal.

-Old Fashioned Oats: The whole groats are steamrolled and flattened. The large size of the particle dictates a longer cooking period.

-Quick Oats: The groats have been cut into smaller pieces and rolled thinner, resulting in a smaller flatter particle which requires less cooking time.

-Instant Oatmeal: Heat treatment is used to pregelatinize the cereal starch so that the cereal requires only the addition of boiling water. The groats are often cut, rolled, sifted, and blended with additives.

-Scotch Oats: The oats are steel cut into smaller pieces but not rolled flat. Therefore, they take longer to cook.

One serving of oatmeal is ¼ cup dry or ¾ cup cooked and contains 104 calories, 3 grams of dietary fibre, 4 grams of protein, 16mg of iron, and 1.75 grams of fat. If you add 1/4 cup of 1% milk, you will have an additional 26 calories and 2 grams of protein.

To boost protein and fibre intake, add a few chopped almonds or walnuts to your cereal. To boost your iron intake, have some blueberries, an orange or kiwi with your breakfast.

There are lots of variations on your basic oatmeal. If you cook it with milk instead of water, you will get added calcium and protein. Adding fresh fruit such as apple chunks or dried fruit such as raisins along with cinnamon and or nutmeg before cooking adds flavour and interest.

Breakfast with oatmeal does not have to be limited to oatmeal. Feel free to progress to muffins, oat, egg white and banana pancakes and overnight oats for variety.

Overnight Oats

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (250 mL) milk or almond milk
• 1 cup (250 mL) plain yogurt
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) natural peanut
• Butter or almond butter
• 2 tsp (10 mL) honey
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup (250 mL) large flake oats
• 1 cup (250 mL) fresh mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
• 2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together milk, yogurt, vanilla, peanut butter, honey, banana, and oats until well blended.
2. Split in two and pour in two separate Mason jars. Top each jar with ½ cup (125 mL) mixed berries and 1 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds.
3. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Enjoy!

Note: This recipe can be served warm as well. To enjoy hot, microwave for 1 minute with Mason jar lid off.