Why are Oats so Good for You?

by Health & Fitness
Photo: Oh She Glows (www.google.com)

Unlike processed grains, Oats are whole grains that are intact so they have more nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber.

The type of fiber Oats contain is soluble and that is the type that can help to lower cholesterol.

Oats help to facilitate Bone Development as well.

They are a great source of Carbohydrates when compared to bread, brown rice etc. and actually slightly better than whole wheat/grain bread because 1 cup of cooked Oats has 4g fiber and more.

1 serving of cooked Oats is equivalent to ~1/2 cup.

How do you measure when cooking? Oats has a 1:2 ratio. 1/2 cup dry Oats yields 1 cup of cooked Oats.

Ensure that if you are using milk, you use almond milk or skimmed milk.

If you are tracking your servings of Carbs for the day, note that 1 serving of bread is 1 slice and 1 cup of cooked Oats is equivalent to almost 2 slices of bread.

1 cup of Oats is ideal but if you would like to add more flavour, use half a cup of cooked Oats and add fruits such as Strawberries, Blueberries, a touch of Raisins or Banana, Flaxseeds and Chia seeds. You could also add a sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon.

Go cook up some Oats and have a great start to your day!

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Have you been Eating the right Cereal? Get your Guide here!

by Health & Fitness

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Tips to pick out your healthy cereal:

– The first ingredient should always be some form of WHOLE grain, e.g. whole wheat, whole oats etc. Keep it whole, so you can be ‘whole-hearted’

– Keep it low in sugar, less than 10g or preferably 8g of sugar per serving

– Go for lots of fibre to keep you fuller for longer, at least 3g of fibre per serving

– Stock up on more than 5g of protein, so you do not feel the need to overeat some hours later. If there is not enough in the cereal, have some 90/100 calorie Greek Yoghurt with it.

– Measure Measure Measure! Be careful when pouring straight from the box. Keep conscious of your serving size according to what is recommended on the box. If you are not having yoghurt with your cereal, adding a few slices of banana will help to bulk it up if necessary.

This is why Suga recommends Oatmeal. Oatmeal is best on its own. Healthy and full of fibre! A bit tasteless for you? Add a shake of cinnamon or nutmeg and even a sprinkle of raisins. Remember sometimes healthy is an acquired taste so give it a few tries first.

Here are some of the other good ones. Can you find your cereal? If not, check the recommended servings of protein, sugar and fibre stated above and see if it fits in the recommended category. Also, avoid the famous Corn Flakes and Honey Bunches of Oats! They are made from Refined Grains.

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– Oatmeal crisp (All Brands)

– FOSKA Oats : Low in sugar with just 1g and high in fibre, 4g. Support Brand Jamaica!

– Post Shredded Wheat : Tasty, 100% natural WHOLE grain with honey and almonds baked in

– Muesli

– General Mills Cheerios (The no added sugar one, Not the Honey nut!) : Just 1g of sugar, WHOLE grain oats and 3g fibre!

– General Mills Total : 100% WHOLE grain!

– General Mills Wheaties : Just 4g sugar and 3g fibre

– Kashi cereals eg. Go Lean, Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat, Cinnamon Harvest Whole Wheat Biscuits

– Quaker Honey Nut Oatmeal Squares : a little sweet with 9g sugar, but high in protein and very crunchy with 4g fibre

– Quaker Life

– General Mills Chex, Wheat or Multi Grain

Lastly, don’t feel like Cereal is just for Breakfast, if on a diet, you can mix it up and have a shake for breakfast and cereal for dinner. It’s easy, especially if you are coming home late after an evening workout.

Also, please do not make your cereal unhealthy by adding whole milk (that’s not making you whole-hearted!), 1%, 2%, condensed or evaporated milk! Use skimmed milk or almond milk.ÂÂ