When the weather gets chilly and the leaves start falling, my insides start craving warm and cozy foods every morning, noon, and night. So, I keep a long and varied list of cozy lunches and dinners to keep me warm during the cold months. But breakfast? Breakfast is trickier. If only I had a stock of healthy oatmeal recipes!
In previous fall and winter seasons, I would get back from the gym freezing cold, and force myself to curl up with a bowl of yogurt or a big smoothie. Those breakfasts of yogurt and smoothies definitely did not help me to stop from freezing. While I am a huge lover of yogurt bowls and smoothies, during the bitter months, they just made me feel colder than I already felt.
Instead of using the food that was waiting for me at home as motivation in the gym, I dreaded going home to eat–something that I never thought would happen to me (someone who loves, loves, loves food). When I discovered oatmeal, that all changed and the old me came back!
While running on the treadmill, I started envisioning big bowls of steamy oats topped with fruit, or topped with nuts, or full of delicious spices, or bursting with creamy chocolatey flavors, or even better: all of the above! The bowls were hanging in front of me, just out of reach. You bet I run faster when I imagine those bowls of deliciousness in front of me!
On top of warming me right up when I’m chilly and starting a party for my taste buds, oatmeal also provides a lot of health benefits.
Such health benefits include:
- Curbs appetite
- Lowers cholesterol
- High in fiber
- Heart-healthy
I, of course, appreciate oatmeal for providing me with all of the health benefits that comes with it, but the one that I find to be the most beneficial directly after eating it is it’s ability to curb my appetite. While trying to lose weight, it’s really my appetite that is my enemy–not the food. It’s my appetite that causes me to eat the food (bad food and/or too much healthy food). With that being said, appetite curbers are my heroes!
Oatmeal is one of those heroes. Whenever I eat a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, I find that I stay satisfied for a very long time. My appetite isn’t nagging me to find more food and I’m able to stay focused because I am fueled up with healthy carbs and nutrients. AKA whenever I have oatmeal in the morning, I know it’s going to be a good day.
You, too, can start off your day on the right foot, with the right food. How? By making yourself some healthy oatmeal for breakfast! Only know how to make boring, bland oatmeal that doesn’t give you the bursts of flavor you want? Then, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to discover 7 healthy oatmeal recipes to brighten up your morning! They’re sure to give you all of those bursts of flavor and then some!
1. Banana Smash Oatmeal
This oatmeal is made using just 4 ingredients: Roasted Banana Smash (the yummiest way to eat a banana: smashed and thrown in the oven for 12 minutes), old-fashioned oats, cinnamon, and unsweetened almond milk.
Yup, that’s right! In just four ingredients, you can take your oatmeal from an average meal to one where you’ll want to lick the bowl clean once you’ve finished. I, myself, am guilty of such an act. As embarrassing as it is, the first time I made this recipe, I couldn’t help myself from lapping up the remaining warm oats and banana stuck on the inside of the bowl like a dog.
I should’ve known I was going to have such a reaction from the moment I started baking the Roasted Banana Smash. The cozy, candied smell mixed with the glorious, gooey sight was mouth-watering enough. But, when I added it to a steamy bowl of oatmeal, it was game over. I knew that no deliciousness could be left behind!
Now that I make it enough, though, I have learned to control myself and I don’t act like a dog every time I make this dish (although I always want to).
2. Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Oatmeal
Dark chocolate and pumpkin? Another meal where I have to hold myself back from licking the bowl!
This combination of dried cherries, almonds, honey, fall spices, and oatmeal never fails to satisfy me–and by “satisfy me”, I really mean “keep me happy, full, and warm for hours”.
The flavors scream fall, but I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat chocolate and pumpkin flavored things all year round? I make this dish to warm me up in the fall when I can not only warm up with it, but also take pretty pictures of it in front of actual pumpkins, Halloween chocolates, and colorful fall leaves. Then, I make this dish to warm me up in the winter months when I can cozy up with this bowl in my hand, my cat at my feet, and a blanket over my lap–creating my very own version of a Winter Wonderland.
I even make this dish to warm me up on the chillier mornings of spring when most other people are enjoying those yogurt bowls and smoothies that I mentioned earlier. Like I said, I’m someone who gets cold easily and I’m always looking for an excuse to use the cozy flavors of chocolate and pumpkin to warm me up!
Dive into this oatmeal anytime of the year–this oatmeal that tastes how colorful, fall leaves and happy Halloween jack-o-lanterns feel: so good!
3. Slow Cooker Nutty Blueberry Banana Oatmeal
Have a busy morning where breakfast is always a rush?
Been there, done that! Actually, if I’m being totally honest here, most of my mornings go a little something like this: wake up, rush to get ready to go to the gym, rush to get to the gym, rush around in the gym trying to get as much done as possible in the time that I have, rush home from the gym, rush to get ready for the day, rush to get out the door, remember that my stomach is growling and I need to eat, rush to make something for breakfast, rush out the door.
Yup, that’s a morning in my life! If working out and eating breakfast didn’t make me so incredibly happy, I might not enjoy my mornings. Lucky, that’s not the case and working out and eating breakfast help me to start my day off right–even if I am rushing!
This Slow Cooker Nutty Blueberry Banana Oatmeal is one of those breakfasts that helps me to start my day off on a good note with its rich flavors. It has also saved me from being late in the morning so many times–which also helps me to start my day off on a good note.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how something that’s made in a SLOW cooker could save me from being late. Well, I’ll tell you how: I make this oatmeal the day or night before so it’s already ready to be eaten when I’m trying to rush out the door!
4. Flax and Apple Raisin Oatmeal
Rich in micronutrients such as B1 and full of fiber, flaxseed isn’t the only hidden gem of this oatmeal recipe. Combined with golden raisins and old-fashioned rolled oats, this low-sodium and saturated fat oatmeal recipe will leave you feeling happy and healthier.
When people say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, they aren’t kidding. Apples provide numerous health benefits such as:
- Prevent diabetes
- Aid in digestion
- Stop constipation
- Prevent eye disorders
- Prevent gout
- Discourage certain types of cancer
- High in fiber
- Metabolism boosting
Apples come with so many wonderful health benefits that it would be silly to say no to oatmeal topped with one!
5. Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
Sunday mornings were made for cinnamon rolls, right? Right!
Unfortunately, cinnamon rolls are not a healthy option, right? Right. But, you can get the same flavors of cinnamon rolls in something that is a healthy option, right? Right again!
This oatmeal is bursting with the same cinnamony goodness that cinnamon rolls provide. The first time I made this oatmeal, I made it at my parents’ house in hopes that it could be yet another way for me to get my family to eat healthy.
To say that my plan worked would be an understatement. My family didn’t just like it, they now make it for themselves almost every weekend!
They add chopped walnuts and raisins for an additional crunch, and since telling them to add a splash of almond milk to it for even more of a creamy texture, they do that too! Cinnamon rolls no longer stand a chance on Sunday mornings thanks to this recipe. Don’t hesitate to get the whole family eating healthily and deliciously!
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source https://skinnyms.com/healthy-oatmeal-recipes/
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