I have always loved oatmeal and I grew up eating packets of quaker instant oatmeal. My favorites were strawberries and cream and apples and cinnamon. My thought was that eating oatmeal was a healthy way to start the day. My mom would sometimes make oatmeal on the stove, but we always added a ton of brown sugar and milk to make it "edible". I was hooked on the sugary sweetness of the oatmeal and it was no different than having a bowl of my favorite cold breakfast cereal.
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| Photo Credit: ramadhantibaa.blogspot.com |
When I started trying to eat healthier as an adult, I found that I still craved oatmeal and I discovered that making it with almond milk, fresh fruit and greek yogurt was a satisfying way to get my oats with less sugar. I occasionally put a dollop of local honey on top. However, I sometimes missed the taste of the instant oatmeal and the tiny bits of dried fruit.
Let's look at a breakdown of what you get with instant oatmeal vs. homemade oats:
2 packets of Strawberry Instant Oatmeal:
- 64 grams of sugar (22 g of that is added sugars)
Homemade Oatmeal:
- 1/2 cup quick oats 27 g sugar (none added) cooked with a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk 1 g sugar (none added)
Making oatmeal at home cuts the carbs quite a bit! So what if you want to add things into the homemade quick oats to get that instant oatmeal taste? What happens to the carb count when I add in some of these favorites?
- Dried strawberries (1 oz) adds 24 g of sugar, but no added sugars and you can make these at home in the dehydrator! A cup of fresh strawberries only adds 12 g of sugar and a half cup of fresh blueberries adds only 10.5 grams.
- Add a dollop (1/4 cup) of plain, non fat Greek Yogurt for a minimal 2.25 grams of sugar and mix it in for a creamy taste.
- Even if you wanted to top it off with natural honey, its only 17 g and honey can be a great alternative to sugar.
I can honestly say that I was rarely satisfied with two packets of instant oatmeal. It did not hold me over until lunch the same way that homemade oatmeal does. I don't miss the overly syrupy and sweet packets of oatmeal anymore. I am happy to have a big bowl of oatmeal with fruit, yogurt and honey any day! Even though my bowl sometimes adds up to the same number of carbs as 2 packets of instant oatmeal, I am eating a lot more food, a lot HEALTHIER food and giving my body more of what it needs!
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| My dehydrator drying out some berries and bananas! |
I love keeping dried fruit on hand to throw in my oatmeal or granola! If you'd like to try dehydrating your own fruit, give this dehydrator a try (this is my Amazon affiliate link for Home Ericanomics). I can dehydrate a couple quarts of strawberries in 6-10 hours at 135 degrees (1/4 inch thick slices) and have them ready for my oatmeal whenever I want them! These freeze well too!
Thank you for reading today's blog! I would love to hear how you eat your oatmeal and your favorite things to add in! Do you love your instant oatmeal and would you be willing to give the homemade oats a try? Let me know in the comments or check out the post on the Facebook page-Home Ericanomics. Please like, follow, comment and share this blog and my social media posts!
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