Want to Get Healthy? Eat More Oatmeal! (3 of 3)

Oatmeal with carrots and raisins. First, measure ½ cup of oats, ¼ cup of chopped carrots, two egg whites, ½ cup of skim or low-fat milk, a pinch of cinnamon, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a small handful of raisins. Mix all of these ingredients minus the cinnamon and raisins in a pan and cook on medium heat until it bubbles. Take off the heat, add the cinnamon and raisins, let it cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!

Oatmeal with shrimp (feeds four). This one is pretty daring since most people (at least in Western culture) don’t think of oatmeal as being a savory dish. But it’s actually really good. Measure ¾ cup of rolled oats, 3 cups of low-fat milk, ⅛ cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 onion finely chopped, 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp, a pinch of salt, a dash of white pepper. Pour the milk in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add the oatmeal and cook on low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly so that the oats don’t get clumpy. In a second pan, heat up the olive oil and saute the onions for about 30 seconds, and then add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, add all of this into the pan containing the oatmeal and cook for around 15 minutes. You’ve got an unexpected oatmeal dish that tastes amazing!

Oatmeal and sweet potato smoothie. With this one you’re really thinking outside the box! Cook the oatmeal as you normally would, boil a sweet potato on the side, put them in the blender, add some low-fat milk, and before you know it you’ve got a one-of-a-kind smoothie that tastes really good and is as healthy as it gets! You can even add a spoonful of unsweetened yogurt if that floats your boat.

Oatmeal with a side of eggs. This is pretty basic. Simply cook the oatmeal on the stove with water or low-fat milk and pair it up with two eggs prepared however you like: fried, boiled, or scrambled. The combination of fiber from the oatmeal and protein from the eggs packs a one-two punch. It speeds up your metabolism and takes very little time to prepare.

Although reducing your calorie intake and eating the right foods is important, any weight loss program should also include exercise so that you don’t lose muscle mass. Make sure to discuss any change in your diet with a doctor.