5 Reasons Oatmeal Is The Perfect Breakfast for a Long Day
If I have a long day ahead of me, there’s only one option for breakfast - oatmeal. Oatmeal is quite simply the perfect breakfast for a long day.
With a big bowl of oatmeal, such as my cinnamon raisin oatmeal, I can go all day.
Here’s why it’s so great:
1) Oatmeal is natural and nearly unprocessed.
Oatmeal is healthy and natural for one basic reason - it’s made almost entirely of oats, which are very healthy grains. And even better, the oats are nearly unprocessed. That’s what really sets oatmeal apart from cereals that come out of a box.
(Those cereals are usually just white flour plus some added nutrients to make it appear healthy, when in actuality most nutrients were already stripped out of the ingredients during the processing.)
2) Oatmeal keeps you full.
Oatmeal keeps you full longer than most other foods. Since the oats are whole grain, there’s plenty of fiber, which helps you feel satiated. Oatmeal “sticks to your gut” as they say.
So if breakfast could end up being your only real meal of the day, choose oatmeal!
3) You can get 1,000 high-energy calories in one bowl.
You can get 1,000 calories in one bowl (if the bowl is big enough.) If you need to fuel for, or refuel from, a huge ride, this is the ticket. And a lot the calories are from carbs, so you should get tons of energy and feel great on your next ride.
4) Oatmeal is packed with protein, fiber, and tons of good nutrients.
While there are lots of carbs, oatmeal also contains protein, fiber, and other important nutrients. Among others, one beneficial nutrient is that soluble fiber which may reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad one) without lowering HDL cholesterol (the good one.)
To learn about more nutrients packed in oatmeal, just see the oatmeal page at World’s Healthiest Foods.
5) Oatmeal makes a great conduit for fruit.
Besides oatmeal, fruit is also great for breakfast. And oatmeal just happens to taste great with fruit mixed in!
Flavor your oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, or peaches for a great breakfast where you also get potent antioxidants and nutrients from the fruit.
So what are you waiting for, go have some oatmeal!
Photo credit: nate steiner
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I agree!
The pic you have of oatmeal looks like it should when cooked properly. I think so many people are not fond of oatmeal because of what they usually get from instant, breakfast at summer camp or Boy Scouts, their family, or a dining establishment - a gluey, sticky mass of over-cooked starch.
‘Real’ oatmeal requires, for one good-sized serving, about 1.25 C of water at a boil to 1 C of old-fashioned (not ‘minute’ or instant!!!) oats. Dump the oats into boiling water, briefly return to a bare boil, cover, and turn off heat. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. It comes out nice and chewy, not like some wallpaper paste. If you add dried fruit (like raisins), add a bit more water perhaps, maybe up to 1.33 C water to 1 C oats. You can dump the raisins/dried food in while the water is coming to a boil.
I usually put a dash or two of salt in the water, and stir in a pat of butter and a couple of Tbsp of pure maple syrup to the finished product.
A lot of processed foods, wheat, and greases/fats upset my stomach, but oatmeal is like an old friend. It’s always good.
If you use steel-cut (Irish/Scotch) oats, you may require a bit more water and perhaps little more covered heat time - depends on your taste.
Oh, and oats, especially in bulk, are very cheap, and nutritious.
PS - you can make your own long-lasting ‘instant’ oatmeal for travel or convenience by cooking as above (without fats) and then dehydrating. Eat as-is or rehydrate with hot water.
@Matt
Yeah, oatmeal gets a bad rap sometimes based on the “gluey mass” stereotype. Thanks for sharing!
Great article. Oatmeal is excellent in the morning…give you slower acting carbohydrates, fiber to help you feel full and maintain you sugar levels steady.