Oatmeal can be a healthy, delicious, filling breakfast. However, if you buy pre-flavored varieties, you are inevitably adding sugar, salt, and more calories. It is much smarter to buy plain oatmeal and add the variations yourself. I add a bit of sea salt, two drops stevia extract (more on this natural sweetener coming soon!), fresh berries, and cinnamon. Fresh fruit is the perfect way to sweeten your oatmeal without adding sugar, honey, or syrup. Get creative!
I usually buy Quaker "Regular" Organic instant oatmeal because I can find it at generic grocery stores (when I can't make it to the health food store). It has 0 grams of sugar, only 100 calories per serving, and the ingredients are only organic rolled oats.
I accidentally bought Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar Organic oatmeal because the box looks so similar.
Looks harmless, right? But it's not. This variety racks up 14 grams of sugar, and more calories and sodium than the regular flavor. Embrace the natural, hearty taste of oatmeal without unnecessary sugars and artificial flavors added. The health benefits are far greater when you keep it simple. Plus, adding your own mix-ins makes it more fun (and more filling).
Don't load it up your breakfast with sugar. Artificial sweeteners are no better, either. They have just as many adverse side effects as sugar and are unnatural chemical substances that really shouldn't enter the human body. So, be smart about your oatmeal!
Eat well,
Emily
Single Dress
i heart oatmeal! i'm always looking for yummy low-calorie ways to spruce it up. however this means that i use artificial sweeteners like crazy... oh well. it's a vice i will never give up.
anyone have any other good ideas? i like to put sugar-free maple syrup and cinnamon in my oatmeal. i also like to mix in some canned pumpkin.
1I would STRONGLY recommend cutting out artificial sweeteners. They don't have calories, but they screw up the way your body converts and understands calories. When I first cut out must sugar from my diet, I turned to artificial sweeteners (Splenda was my favorite). But I finally cut them out and lost weight in the process. Regularly consuming indigestible chemicals and substances created in a lab is never going to be the answer to a healthy diet. We already know about how consumption of these chemicals can cause cancer, disturb normal metabolic functions (what I said earlier about calories), cause cellulite, and other harmful effects... I'm sure there's plenty more to be discovered. Read my recent post on stevia... it's a GREAT natural sweetener and has no calories.
2Have you tried blue agave? It is a natural sweetener from the blue agave plant. It is very sweet, so you don't need much.
3I used to use agave nectar before I was on a limited sugar diet. I really liked it and it is much better for you than honey or sugar, but because my sugar intake is so restricted at this point, I don't use it anymore.
4Instant oats are a poor choice as they have been refined. Handy as they only take 3 minutes, but the extra 5 to 7 minutes spent on the real thing is far better in the long run for your health.
5PS; Not to be confused with the hulled, they take 45 minutes. Just rolled oats.
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