If you always eat your oatmeal the same way, your taste buds are bound to get bored of the same old flavors. You may find yourself eating it less often which leaves these nutritious oats to go stale in your pantry. 

If oatmeal just isn’t your thing, take a second to consider how nutritious this fiber-packed grain really is.

A 12-week study on the effects of daily oatmeal consumption found that this amazing food “reduced obesity, abdominal fat, and improved lipid profiles and liver functions” among participants who ate oats.1 

That’s a lot of change from one dietary adjustment! With so much potential to improve your health, this nutritious grain is fighting for a place in your daily diet.

If we’ve convinced you of the nutritional benefits, but you still get bored of the taste, read on for some delicious ways to jazz up your oatmeal, perhaps in ways you’ve never even considered! Ignite your interest in oats with these sweet and savory options.

THE BASE

If you’ve ever had plain oatmeal prepared with nothing but water, you would know how little flavor it actually has. It doesn’t have an inherent sweetness, so why restrict our preparation methods to only sweet recipes? Sure, it may be what we are accustomed to, but oats can be extremely versatile because of their fairly neutral flavor profile. 

Next time you’re preparing your oatmeal, try simmering it in broth! You can choose chicken, pork, beef, bone, or vegetable broth, and you can add some garlic or spice to give it some extra zing.  

If you’d still like to go the sweet route, try using a different type of milk than what you typically use. Try using soy, almond, flax, or coconut milk. 

Once you’ve chosen your sweet or savory base, you can select some sweet or savory toppings, but don’t let us tell you how to mix and match! If you want a sweet base with some savory toppings, that’s entirely up to you. Just be sure to let us know how it tastes!

TOPPINGS

Now things get interesting, especially if you’ve never had a savory oatmeal dish. These toppings add a helping of protein, vitamins, and minerals to your already-healthy oats.

Some savory options include avocado, a fried egg, a hard-boiled or soft-boiled egg, red bell pepper, mushrooms, arugula, spinach, tomatoes, and onions. If you’re looking for a meatier dish, you can add thinly sliced portions of chicken, sausage, bacon, or ham.  

Topping options that pair well with a sweet base are a bit more obvious if that’s typically your go-to. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, almonds, walnuts, pecans, dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots, and hemp seeds, all make delicious toppings.

Be conscious of how much sugar you’re adding, however. If your base has some sugar content and your toppings are also on the sweet side, you may go over your recommended daily intake. 

GARNISHES

Garnishes are decorative, but still delicious, sprinkles or drizzles of color and flavor. You can garnish your savory oatmeal with sriracha, Romano cheese, cheddar, parmesan, scallions, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper. 

Sweeter options might include heavy cream, milk, honey, brown sugar, granola, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. 

There are seemingly endless options; this is what makes oatmeal such a versatile meal. We hope that, with these ideas in your arsenal, you never encounter oat-based boredom again! 

To read more about grains and their different health benefits, check out this Guide to Grains. Or, pick up some meal prep ideas with our Beginner’s Guide to Successful Meal Prepping. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter today! 

Sources

  1. Chang, Hong-Chou, et al. “Oat Prevents Obesity and Abdominal Fat Distribution, and Improves Liver Function in Humans.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 31 Jan. 2013, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11130-013-0336-2.