My husband’s gotten in the habit of making his own oatmeal, which is pretty tasty and a healthier alternative to most store-bought oatmeal. Not only does homemade oatmeal allow you to skip all the added sugars and preservatives, but it’s easy to make and customize to your personal tastes. Ours uses a combination of ground nuts and dried fruit to create a quick breakfast cereal that’s high in protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants. If possible, I suggest eating it with a piece of fresh fruit to get some enzymes and plant compounds into your meal.
Is oatmeal healthy?
There is some debate in holistic health circles about whether grains, including oatmeal, are a healthy and necessary part of the diet. For the most part, I don’t eat them. Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple says we don’t need grains at all and that they are too hard on the digestive system, particularly when gluten is involved.
I’m not going to get into a “grains vs. no grains” debate at the moment. For now, I’ve decided that homemade, gluten-free oatmeal is probably one of the best breakfast options if you’re away from home and can’t make a breakfast smoothie . Often after my morning yoga class, I struggle to find something for breakfast that isn’t gluten- or dairy-based. I love my Panera egg soufflés, but they’re not particularly healthy and don’t fit into my diet plan for my upcoming detox. Oatmeal, however, is something I can take with me to work, along with a piece of fruit, and manage to eat a reasonably healthy breakfast. I would not, however, make it my breakfast staple.
Also, oatmeal is part of the Gerson diet , which leads me to believe that it can’t be all that bad for you.
Gluten-free oatmeal
We prepare our oatmeal with gluten-free oats. Oats are naturally free of gluten, but can become contaminated with gluten during harvesting and processing. So if gluten is a concern, look for oats that are specifically labeled “gluten-free.”
Healthy oatmeal recipe
Ryan tends to not follow recipes or actually measure ingredients, so I watched him in action as he made a batch of oatmeal this morning and wrote down my best approximation of all quantities. Any combination of nuts and fruits can be used to suit your personal preference. This recipe made quite a large batch (see picture), which should last us a couple of weeks.
In a large bowl, combine the following:
- Dried fruit of your choice (cranberries, raisins, apple, banana, etc.)
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup flax meal
- About 1/4 cup cinnamon. Don’t worry about using too much – the flavor will disperse and cinnamon is good for you .
- 2 packets Stevia
- About 1 tsp salt
With food processor, process the following ingredients one at a time and add to bowl:
- Gluten-free oats. Process about 15 seconds until slightly powdery. We used about 3 cups total.
- Pumpkin seeds, about 1 cup. Process until well ground.
- Raw almonds, about 1 cup. Process to desired consistency. The larger the pieces, the chunkier your oatmeal will be.
- Pecans, about 1/2 cup.
- Dried apricots. Add a little more oatmeal when processing to keep them from getting too gummy.
Mix everything together and store in a large airtight container. To serve, add milk or water (I like to use almond milk) and microwave for 90 seconds.
My husband’s gotten in the habit of making his own oatmeal, which is pretty tasty and a healthier alternative to most store-bought oatmeal. Not only does homemade oatmeal allow you to skip all the added sugars and preservatives, but it’s easy to make and customize to your personal tastes. Ours uses a combination of ground nuts and dried fruit to create a quick breakfast cereal that’s high in protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants. If possible, I suggest eating it with a piece of fresh fruit to get some enzymes and plant compounds into your meal.
Is oatmeal healthy?
There is some debate in holistic health circles about whether grains, including oatmeal, are a healthy and necessary part of the diet. For the most part, I don’t eat them. Mark over at Mark’s Daily Apple says we don’t need grains at all and that they are too hard on the digestive system, particularly when gluten is involved.
I’m not going to get into a “grains vs. no grains” debate at the moment. For now, I’ve decided that homemade, gluten-free oatmeal is probably one of the best breakfast options if you’re away from home and can’t make a breakfast smoothie . Often after my morning yoga class, I struggle to find something for breakfast that isn’t gluten- or dairy-based. I love my Panera egg soufflés, but they’re not particularly healthy and don’t fit into my diet plan for my upcoming detox. Oatmeal, however, is something I can take with me to work, along with a piece of fruit, and manage to eat a reasonably healthy breakfast. I would not, however, make it my breakfast staple.
Also, oatmeal is part of the Gerson diet , which leads me to believe that it can’t be all that bad for you.
Gluten-free oatmeal
We prepare our oatmeal with gluten-free oats. Oats are naturally free of gluten, but can become contaminated with gluten during harvesting and processing. So if gluten is a concern, look for oats that are specifically labeled “gluten-free.”
Healthy oatmeal recipe
Ryan tends to not follow recipes or actually measure ingredients, so I watched him in action as he made a batch of oatmeal this morning and wrote down my best approximation of all quantities. Any combination of nuts and fruits can be used to suit your personal preference. This recipe made quite a large batch (see picture), which should last us a couple of weeks.
In a large bowl, combine the following:
With food processor, process the following ingredients one at a time and add to bowl:
Mix everything together and store in a large airtight container. To serve, add milk or water (I like to use almond milk) and microwave for 90 seconds.