A Post About Oats

Since I started the Shredded in Six blog I have pretty much had the same breakfast every morning in a variety of forms: oats.  First it was steel-cut oats.  I prepared these ahead of time which was time consuming, but had them ready for the week which was very convenient.  Once I discovered baked oatmeal, there was no turning back. However, this is very time consuming in the morning as well.  I had started getting to work later and later in the morning and realized I needed to change my oats routine.  Last week, I saw a smoothie in Oxygen magazine using oat bran and I thought this would be a good warm weather substitution for the regular warm bowl of oatmeal.  PLUS, it gave me an opportunity to use my new blender.  So, yesterday morning I broke out my new bag of oat bran and made my smoothie.  I mixed in some ice, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, chia seeds, half a banana and blueberries.  I was excited to try my smoothie and <EWW, it was not good>.  I am sure most of you could have already assumed that, but I was being optimistic.  The texture of the oat bran through the straw was not for me.  So, I did some research on other kids of oats I could make with the oat bran and found overnight oats.  All of the preparation is the night before which is perfect for me.I found the recipe below at the Eating Bird Food Blog.

Creamy Banana Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oatmeal (I used 1/4 cup oat bran and 1/4 cup old fashioned oats)
• 1/2 smashed banana
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (look for this on FFF...never used it before and heart it!)
• 2 tablespoons honey Greek yogurt (I used blueberry greek yogurt...my favorite)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 package splenda)

Put the above ingredients into a tupperware container, mix them all together and put the container in the fridge overnight. Once morning rolls around take the container out of the fridge, give the oats a stir and enjoy!  I added fresh blueberries for extra "ummph" :)  This is my new favorite way to make oats and I am anxious to try many new combos!

Why Oats? 
According to Mr. Breakfast, oats help to lower cholesterol and reduced the risk of heart disease.  Oatmeal contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates and iron.  The oats you buy at the store are all natural, can be bought in bulk and are very inexpensive and easy to find.    And the #1 reason why I eat oatmeal: the fiber and water in oats helps to slow down digestion and keeps you feeling fuller longer.

Challenge: Eat some oats for breakfast this week!  You do eat breakfast every morning, right?!?!?!

Peach, Out!!