ExamineHealth

 

You all must think I'm crazy with all my talk about oatmeal. It's just that every morning when I sit down at my bowl of oatmeal I'm completely blown away at how delicious and nutritious it is! And it keeps getting better!

That's the amazing thing about it. I was passionate about my oatmeal back when it was rolled oats and banana! Since then I've learned much about food, nutrition, oats, and superfoods that those days seem like light-years ago. I've been holding off telling you about my findings because I didn't want to bombard you with oat-stories! However, this morning I just have to write, as I just made another discovery!

So let's rewind a bit, to my latest quantum leap in this meal. I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that it originated from the 28-Day Cleanse that we went on. I'm telling you, the things that I learned doing that cleanse have literally changed my life. I can't recommend it enough. The cleanse focuses on whole foods, and in a perfect world, ALIVE foods. And oats are a perfect example of that. In my last article on oatmeal I talked about choosing rolled oats over instant oats, and those reasons are still valid, however we're going to take it a step farther. The cleanse protocol specified 'whole oat groats' instead of rolled oats. It was very specific about this point and forbade rolled oats in your diet during the cleanse. Now, at the time, I thought I understood the concept of whole foods and could easily fathom why whole oat groats would be better than instant (or powdered) oats, or even steel cut oats, but rolled oats are the whole oat right!? They're just flattened! What's the harm there?

Well I asked the question of Scott, who wrote the cleanse, and is, by the way, extremely responsive on his message boards. (I had several questions throughout the cleanse and his answer was never farther than 15 minutes behind me posting it. If you are interested in cleaning up your digestion and want a cleanse where you'll get the personal attention and experience of someone who's been doing it for years, I can't recommend the 28-Day Cleanse enough.) Scott told me that the reason the cleanse called for whole oat groats was very simple: if you plant whole oat groats in dirt and water them, you'll get an oat plant. If you plant rolled oats in the ground, you get nothing. It's that simple. It's very difficult to argue with logic like that, and that is the type of logic that he uses throughout his program. Again, highly recommended.

(The details have to do with enzymes and the way your body digests food, but that's another topic.)

So, the first major change to my bowl of oatmeal was to use whole oat groats. These things are super cheap and you can pick them up in bulk in any health food store. You can, of course, get them from Amazon. 

Now the only problem with whole oat groats is that they take longer to cook. If you're cooking on a stove, you'll want to soak them first, and then simmer for at least 2 hours. Of course, if you've got a pressure cooker you can have them ready in 25 minutes! This was one of the primary reasons for getting a pressure cooker, and it makes a perfectly cooked bowl of oatmeal every morning for breakfast one of the easiest things in the world to prepare. 1 cup of oats, two cups of water, a pinch of salt and turn up the pressure for 25 minutes. You're set to go.

After your oats are cooked, it's time to start dressing it. I still use the classic bananas and cinnamon, I just don't stop there. In fact that combination goes great with walnuts tossed in. I have also started adding some superfoods on an almost regular basis. I bought a big bag of flax seeds and keep a coffee grinder next to my pressure cooker just for that purpose. So every bowl of oatmeal gets a heap of ground flax seeds in it. I also dump about a teaspoon or two of bee pollen in as well. Bee pollen is supposedly the most nutrient complete food on the planet. Check it out, it's good stuff. Amazon has a great source, again, buy in bulk and freeze, it will last you for a good long while.

Most recently I've discovered Maca. This superfood was used by Incan warriors before going into battle to make them strong. It's a great energy booster and supports hormones as well. It is also classified as an adaptogen, which means that it increases your body's resistance to stress, trauma, anxiety and fatigue. But it wasn't until the package arrived at my doorstep and I got to open it up that I realized how delicious it was! It has a sweet, nutty flavor that goes great stirred into your hot bowl of oatmeal.

However, the thing that has really taken my bowl to the next level has been two scoops of applesauce. That's right, you heard me! A couple of dollops of organic applesauce adds a creamy texture to the oatmeal that turns it into a joy to devour. I highly recommend that you try this, it will surprise you about how delicious it is.

Now, believe it or not, none of those things inspired me to write this article. The next step in the evolution of my favorite breakfast meal was the one that made me stop and kick myself for missing out on it all this time. It's simple, as are all of the above suggestions, but it transformed the flavor like nothing else has.

Cook your bananas into your oatmeal.

That's right, slice a banana right into the pot where you're cooking the oatmeal before you put it on the heat. The taste of banana transforms when it's cooked. Bananas Foster anyone? The resulting concoction was so good, it didn't even need applesauce. I've also experimented with cooking raisins in with the banana, and I can't wait to add some other fruit choices to see what they'll do.

Which may be one of the most exciting things about it. Even now, I've got more combinations and ideas of things to add to my oatmeal that I just can't wait to try.

If you've got any recipes for oatmeal creations, or suggestions I should try, please let me know in the comments below. I'm always open to improving on this dish. Thanks for reading this far into my obsession with oatmeal. I'll try to resist another article on this topic for at least a while.

 

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