Oatmeal: How & Why to Cook It Every Day

Resolution #1: Eat breakfast. Resolution #2: Eat breakfast every day. Resolution #3: Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Resolution #4: Eat a new healthy breakfast every day.

For a good ten years now, I’ve kept a hard lock on three out of four breakfast resolutions. But #4? Not so much.

True confession: I make the same breakfast day in and day out, a bowl of oatmeal porridge cooked in the microwave. My addiction? A swirlful of peanut butter that yields a creamy, rich and entirely satisfying, healthy start to my day. Plus, it’s a cheap breakfast, adds up to just two (or three) Weight Watchers points, and racks up exactly one bowl and one spoon for the dishwasher. All this and good for me, too.

But hey! It’s the New Year, the time of fresh starts and brand-new beginnings. So l’ve stirred up my oatmeal morning, with new cooking methods and new add-ins. 2009? It promises to be one very good year.

Turns out, the choice of oatmeal as a breakfast staple is a wise one. An apple a day may keep the doctor away but oatmeal, oatmeal – oh my, the miracle that’s in a homely bowl of oat porridge.

WHOLE FOOD Oatmeal is 100% plant-based, low in calories, fat and cholesterol but high in fiber and protein.

QUICK COOKING Oatmeal cooks in just a few minutes so breakfast is on the table quick-quick.

FILL-YOU UP A hot bowl of oatmeal keeps me full and satisfied, right up until lunch.

FIBER & REGULARITY Enough said?

PRICE My goodness. Buy old-fashioned oats at a price club such as Sam's Club or Costco, where a serving costs just $.033 cents, three and a third cents. Now that's a bargain.

FLEXIBILITY For goodness, there’s no beating a glass of milk with a good oatmeal cookie (with raisins, say, or with banana) but what about in meatloaf? and bread? a pie crust? Even homemade dog treats?

SHELF STABLE Oats keep, no freezing, no refrigeration required. I keep mine in a tin that sits out on the counter. There’s a quarter-cup measuring cup that stays inside.

FLAVOR Oatmeal tastes nutty and creamy when cooked, but nutty and crisp when combined with butter and spices for a streusel topping, say.

HEART-HEALTHY But as if that’s not enough, oatmeal is heart-healthy too. Twenty-five years of research shows that a daily dose of oatmeal reduces cholesterol, specifically the ‘bad LDL’ cholesterol that clogs our arteries and contributes to heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women. Oatmeal can’t do the job alone – it needs help from the usual suspects, a balanced diet and regular exercise. But oatmeal offers a double whammy. For every one percent reduction in cholesterol, there’s a two percent drop in the risk of heart disease. (The U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved this health claim more than 10 years ago.)

There are five forms of oats available in the marketplace. Four are simple, whole foods with all the health benefits of oats.

OAT GROATS are the least-processed form of oats, straight off the plant. They are the most difficult to find and the most unusual to cook with. I found oat groats at Whole Foods recently but haven't cooked with them yet. More on oat groats soon!

ROLLED OATS / OLD-FASHIONED OATS Even the 'processed' form of oatmeal is a 'whole food'. It is made from just one ingredient, oat groats right off the stem, hulled, kilned (a process that adds heat and moisture), toasted, then rolled, no more. When the groats are toasted and rolled, they become 'rolled oats' or 'uncooked oatmeal'. If you love the Quaker brand of oatmeal (which I do, and will pay a bit more for), look for big cylinders called 'old-fashioned' oats.

QUICK OATS Here, the rolled oats are precooked during processing, just a bit, so that they cook more quickly at home. (That said, old-fashioned rolled oats cook so quickly, I don't get the need for faster cooking.)

INSTANT OATS Here, the rolled oats are precooked during processing, a bit more, so that they cook very quickly at home.

STEEL-CUT OATS Where old-fashioned oats are ‘rolled’, steel-cut oats are oat groats cut with a steel blade. The source ingredient is the same, only the processing is different. McCanns Irish oats is one brand but Trader Joe's has a private label brand too. Steel-cut oats take the longest to cook. Some people love their slightly chewy texture, others don't.

OATMEAL PACKETS The one variation of oatmeal I don't recommend is the small packets of cereal that include dried fruit, sugar and spices. They're expensive and include far too much sugar. If you're going to eat the equivalent of an oatmeal cookie, make homemade oatmeal cookies and enjoy the real thing!

ARE OLD-FASHIONED OATS BETTER THAN QUICK OR INSTANT OATMEAL? There was a time when I recommended old-fashioned oatmeal over quick-cooking and instant oatmeal. But no longer. You see, it’s an old wives’ tale that nutritionally speaking, one form of oatmeal is better than the other. It’s a matter of taste, not nutrition, so relax, pick your favorite oatmeal and be happy and healthy.

That said, my favorite oatmeal is old-fashioned oats, so all these recipes have been tested with old-fashioned oats, which to my taste are nuttier- and richer-tasting. The other oat versions will taste just fine but the timing may vary so the first time you use the recipes, please take note.

OATMEAL for DIABETICS (Please note, I'm not a nutritionist, what follows are my opinion, not fact.) You'd think that oats (largely unprocessed, plant-based and high-fiber) would be a recommended food for diabetics. But in my circle of diabetic friends and family, oatmeal increases blood sugar levels and therefore is avoided. With less surface area, steel-cut oats may be absorbed more slowly and thus may have a lower-glycemic affect. As always, each diabetic needs to understand the impact of their own intake on their own blood sugar.