By: Bethany Barich (Follow on Instagram & Twitter)
If there’s one power food that everyone should at least try once in his or her life, it’s oatmeal.
Personally, I never liked the idea of eating it until I actually did and now I can’t imagine my life without it. There are so many benefits from eating oatmeal daily. My personal favorite and probably yours too - weight control!
Eating oatmeal daily helps reduce your appetite! Along with that, it also reduces blood pressure, promotes antioxidant activity and another personal favorite – helps with athletic performance due to it’s great source of carbohydrates and proteins!
The next question to oatmeal is probably whether to eat it hot or cold (I personally enjoy hot), and no matter what your preference is, there’s always that lingering question – What do you top it off with? Below is my personal favorite top 5 toppings for oatmeal which I highly recommend trying out sometime!
1. Peanut Butter
Does there seriously need to be an explanation for this? Who doesn’t love peanut butter? I’d suggest eating this combination before you plan to do any strength training or running because the extra packed protein you’re getting from the peanut butter will help you out. This combination could work for a post workout meal too. Just add some bananas in there for a good source of potassium and you’ve got a delicious breakfast or lunch!
2. Fresh Berries
If you aren’t aware of some of the health benefits from eating berries, they include preventing some serious diseases (like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s!), they’re major heart health boosters, and of course they help with weight loss. Pair those benefits up with those of oatmeal and you’ve got one of the healthiest meals. I’d suggest doing just blueberries one day, raspberries another, then maybe the next pairing up blackberries and strawberries. Or, if you really want to, and I also suggest trying out, mix all of them together! You can never have to many berries in any meal.
3. Cinnamon
Loaded with antioxidants, a heart health booster, and weight loss helper, cinnamon is excellent to put on oatmeal because it gives it a sweet but not an overly sweet flavor. Even though it’s not listed, I would suggest chopping up an apple and mixing it into the bunch to get yummy apple-cinnamon oatmeal.
4. Dark Chocolate
Chocolate is absolutely delicious on oatmeal. It may be hard to believe, but chocolate can actually be nutritious for you! Moderation is key – always remember that. Dark chocolate is one of the healthier options because it helps with weight control by being more filling and helping with appetite control. Not to mention it’s a great stress reliever!
5. Nuts
Walnuts, almonds, pistachios – just to name a few excellent and healthy, nuts to try on your oatmeal next time! Pistachios are healthy because they’re one of the most slimming nuts out there in terms of calorie intake. They’re a cancer reducer and, like all other things listed, are packed with antioxidants. Almonds are a great immune system builder and walnuts are a great source of healthy unsaturated fats!
No matter how you pair it, no matter how you eat it, you will always be packing yourself with some great health benefits so if you ever find yourself getting bored with your oatmeal routine, try pairing it up with some of these listed.
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