When I was little I was obsessed with pigs, I collected anything to do with them. I always wanted a pet pig and I wanted to name him Quaker. I kept trying to convince my family that pigs are actually very clean animals and very smart... Then one time, my sister, mom and I went to Parc Omega. While we approaching the pig area, I remember blabbing on about pig facts and trying to convince them about how clean of a pet they could be. Then, literally two seconds later a big piggy came walking towards our car with a huge blob of mud or sh** on his nose... not sure which of the two. It was pretty hilarious, but made it hard to defend my case... I will second guess myself on the cleanliness part, but I do know for a fact that pigs are highly intelligent animals. They love oats, they must be smart! This post is on oats (not pigs). The fact I wanted to name the pig I never had Quaker ties it all together.
Oats have been cultivated for more than 2000 years, they have exceptional functional and nutritional properties, they are so simple and inexpensive and you can even eat them raw. For the reasons above, I consider them #OG.
"Whole grain consumption is inversely associated with certain diet-related disorders such as type-2 diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease". There is endless information on the positivity of oats. Numerous studies have shown that eating oats can "lower serum cholesterol levels, reduce glucose uptake and decrease plasma-insulin response". Essentially, oats can lower cholesterol and sugar levels in our blood (they help make our blood flow smoothly, less sticky and less thick).
If you are worried about carbs, you don't need to be. I used to be scared of carbs, but I had it all wrong. Oats have everything you need and in the right percentages. Your body knows exactly how to digest this wonderful whole-grain and use all the elements to its maximal potential. One of my new obsessions is overnight oats. I know this isn't anything new, but I recently discovered this easy peasy, nutritionally dense snack/ meal. Below are instructions for 3 of my go to Mason Jar Mush. Get ready for the easiest recipes to follow. If you read my food as fuel blog you know that cooking isn't my specialty, so the recipes below are my type of recipes... haha basically no recipe at all. I didn't include quantities on purpose because it doesn't really matter.. like more liquid, less dense, less liquid, more dense.. sorta self explanatory.
#BasicBarb: Put oats in a jar. Add almond milk (or whatever type of milk you desire, but please don't use cows milk). Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours (overnight is best). Eat with spoon.
#MediumMia: add some Chia seeds, cinnamon, and cocoa powder to the BasicBarb.
#SoupedUpSally: add some Banoonoos and Maple syrup to the MediumMia.
If you don't like plain oats, don't fret because one of my friends shared her genius trick with me... Oat Flour! You don't need to buy the over priced oat flour from the store either. Simply grind up the oats you bought for 99 cents in a blender and there you have it. Try replacing regular white flour with oat flour in some of your fav recipes! Oat pancakes, breads, muffins etc, the world is your oyster!
Et Voila! So simple, inexpensive, nutritionally dense and good on the gooooooo... #RawPower
Sang, Shengmin, and YiFang Chu. "Whole grain oats, more than just a fiber: Role of unique phytochemicals." Molecular nutrition & food research 61.7 (2017): 1600715.