4 tips for making a healthy and tasty oatmeal

Breakfast of champions: flax, rolled oats, chia seeds and hemp hearts. Throw in some soy milk and applesauce. This is how I start my morning every day (give or take a few ingredients) #yyc #yycfood #healthyeating #oatmeal #ancientgrains #granola #nosugaradded #nosugar #sweet

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Irene Seto (@heyseto) on Aug 26, 2015 at 6:42am PDT

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I eat oatmeal every single morning. Boring right? Wrong! You can make this fibre-filled bowl a true morning delight with just a few, easy steps to get it a tasty and healthy part of your daily diet.  

Sweet… and salty?

Oatmeal is known for being bland and flavorless which is why folks like to pour on the sugar. But if you’re eating oatmeal to be healthy, packing on the sweet stuff isn’t going to do you any favours. I like to use natural sweeteners such as agave, applesauce, or honey to get the same effect.

My secret trick though to really enhance the oatmeal flavour is to add  a pinch of salt. If you’ve ever done any baking, you’ll know that salt makes a big difference in all your sweet treats. The same applies to oatmeal as the salt helps to balance out the sweet essences, brings out all the flavours and prevents the oatmeal from tasting plain. Give it a try!

The pot thickens

I hate to eat watery oatmeal which is why I add extra ingredients like chia seeds, hemp hearts, and flaxseed to thicken up my bowl. Getting my oatmeal to more of a porridge-like texture makes it heartier, healthier and more filling for your tummy. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and other nutrient-rich seeds are a great way to add more satisfying ingredients to your breakfast oatmeal.

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Irene Seto (@heyseto) on Dec 16, 2014 at 8:10am PST

Mix it up
Fruit and other toppings are necessary to switch up your oatmeal combos regularly so you don’t get bored. Try a handful of blueberries one day, chop up some bananas, or throw a dab of peanut butter on top for some extra protein. Get really creative and go tropical with pineapple, include your favorite chopped nuts, or try savoury with a poached egg.

Breakfast quinoa

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Irene Seto (@heyseto) on Jan 10, 2014 at 9:00am PST

Set the foundation
Choose the oatmeal that you like the most! It can be small flakes, big flakes, quick oats, steel-cut, you name it. And sometimes your oatmeal doesn’t have to be oatmeal – quinoa is a yummy alternative when you want to try something different.

Do you eat oatmeal regularly? What do you do to make it a delicious dish? Comment below or send me a tweet at @heyseto.