You Get What You Get...

...and you don't throw a fit! Haha! Another childhood memory. I'm full of them this week!

So, how is your oatmeal coming? I'm loving mine. But that's nothing new! I thought I'd share with you some of the reasons why oatmeal is such a good breakfast choice. First off, let's start with why you should eat the real thing instead of the instant stuff:

My biggest "issue" with instant oatmeal is just the ingredients. Which is usually my hangup with any food. I like whole foods, with few ingredients. If I want flavor, I want to add it and KNOW what I'm adding. Instant oatmeal has things like guar gum and caramel color, and the second ingredient is sugar...9 grams of it. I don't need that in my body! In the regular oats, there is only one ingredient. In other words: YOU GET WHAT YOU GET! So try to make your own...I think it tastes better any way!

Another reason to go for the real stuff is that it keeps you full longer. A lot of people look at the instant packages and think "Oh wow, just 100 calories!" But you need more than that for breakfast to keep you full. And if you make your own oats, you can add the extra stuff like protein from peanut butter and some fruit and milk. Get where I'm going with it?

Finally, the health benefits of oatmeal are pretty great. Compared with other whole grains on a per gram basis, oats have one of the highest concentrations of protein; calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, thiamine, and vitamin E. Oatmeal also reduces the absorption of sugar in the blood so that you can keep going for longer and the blood sugar does not drop like other food. Annnddd the fiber in oatmeal helps to lower cholesterol and regulate the digestive system.

So basically, oatmeal is a pretty sweet deal! I hope you've found a combination you like. If not, don't give up! Keep mixing things around until you find what works for you.