Oatmeal: the Frugal Health Food

For years I thought I was the only kid in town who was subjected to the seemingly enormous bowl of thick, sticky goo for breakfast all winter long. It seems though that I have to make an apology to my mother.

She wasn’t, as I then was convinced, trying to kill me. In fact, she was on to something that even she didn’t fully realize at the time. That bowl of oatmeal that I ate during the cold months as a child was not only quite cheap, but it may have even made me a little healthier too.

Oatmeal has been maligned for years alongside all those veggies many kids hid in their napkins. Most kids just don’t like carrots or broccoli either.  Okay, so I did but I was weird.

The American Cancer Society actually says that there are quite a few potential health benefits to be gleaned from eating oatmeal regularly:

1.  Oats are a great source of protein, copper, iron, magnesium, Vitamin E and zinc.

2.   People who eat oats regularly are less likely to suffer from heart disease.

3.  Oats are shown to lower LDL cholesterol (that’s the bad stuff) without lowering the HDL cholesterol (that’s the good stuff).

4.  The soluble fiber in oatmeal slows down the digestion of starch in your system.  If you are a diabetic you realize that this can help you to avoid the sharp spikes in your blood sugar that can accompany many foods. In other words, oatmeal is good for diabetics.

Considering you can buy oatmeal in bulk if you are so inclined, it is one of the cheapest and most healthy pantry staples you can find these days, and it doesn’t just have to be served in a lumpy mass.  Oatmeal pancakes, homemade oatmeal bread (I love making oatmeal banana bread!) and even granola can be made easily and inexpensively without ever once making you tell your family to “Eat your oatmeal!”

If you need some inspiration and want to try your hand at making your own instant oatmeal at home, check out my simple recipe here.