Healthy Ways to Make Oatmeal Taste Delicious

Oatmeal is so good for us, a whole grain with high fiber, absorbing and removing toxins from our system as well as helping to lower cholesterol levels, naturally. However the taste of oatmeal is so bland and boring that most of us avoid it altogether, when it can taste delicious.

Instead why not add healthy, naturally sweet ingredients to your bowl of cooked oats and watch them transform into a delicious breakfast? Peel, chop and boil apples and raisins with a sprinkling of cinnamon, to cook right along with the oatmeal. Or try boiling plain oats according to directions on canister, then add banana slices, fresh or frozen berries, walnuts or pecans with maple syrup or brown sugar and milk.

Include ½ cup to 1 full cup old-fashioned (whole) or instant (chopped) oats to hand kneaded bread or bread-machine varieties, as well as other baked goods to make them more nutritious. Oats add extra fiber without ruining the taste, as do some other high fiber foods or grains, and add a mild nutty flavor.

Besides adding a light nutty flavor, oats make cookies soft, chewy and nutritious when added to the cookie batter. My family has always added oats and chopped walnuts to chocolate chip cookie batter as it makes them stay soft and taste incredible.

For other great tasting ways to use high fiber and nutritious oats try adding them to your meatloaf or meatball recipes, mixing right along with the breadcrumbs. Used in meatloaf oats will absorb excess oils and fat, while keeping meatballs or meatloaf moist even when reheated. You can also grind up inexpensive old-fashioned or instant oats in a food processor to create oat flour to use in place of white or wheat (bleached) flours.

Oat flour can replace white or wheat flours to make gravies for use over oat-enriched meatloaf or meatballs. Adding small amounts of oat flour can be used to thicken any cheese, Hollandaise or cream sauces which can make eggs, vegetables or pasta dishes taste even better.

Oats can be added on top of fruit cups or fruit pies, as found in my article "Fall Recipes for Apple Crisp" on my news page at AssociatedContent.com/cmajors and is a welcome addition to breakfast, lunch or dinner. This versatile whole grain offers lots of fiber and nutrition to breads, pancakes, and cookies while adding a mildly nutty flavor that is impossible to live without once you start using it.