My oldest also hated oatmeal and NEVER ate hot cereals as an infant. No oatmeal, no rice cereal, nothing. Although he was 3 when I reintroduced oatmeal as a regular family breakfast, he thought he liked oatmeal because it had raisins in it. I would announce it was oatmeal morning and he'd say "I LOVE oatmeal. Yum!" He continued to profess his affection for this warm cereal as he picked out all the raisins and left the lumps! I didn't discourage him, and within a month we were all finishing our bowls of whole grain oat goodness.
To avoid honey or sugar in oatmeal, offer mashed bananas, unsweetened oatmeal, cinnamon and ground flax seed (or flax seed meal) for the kids to add to their bowls. My kids end up loving any meal when they get to add their own mixings/toppings.
If you are like me and didn't like oatmeal, steel cut oats make the difference. They have a texture similar to brown rice, a little chewy, which is such an improvement over the texture of mushy quick cooking oats. Enjoy!
Recipe
1/4 cup steel cut oats to 1 cup liquid (I use half milk half water to add extra protein). 1/4 cup grains per adult, 1/4 cup for 2 preschoolers, for our family that's 3/4 grains and 3 c liquid for me, hubby and two boys. Add 1/4 cup raisins to liquid. Bring liquid to boil. If using milk turn it to low as soon as you hear/see bubbles, milk will scald if it gets too hot. Add grains, stirring well while adding to reduce lumps,cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you grind your grains (I use a coffee mill that is dedicated to grains/spices), it only takes 15 minutes for them to cook on low. I'd let it go 20 or more minutes until grains are tender but still a bit chewy if you're not grinding the grains prior to cooking.
Nutrition
Oats (and some kinds of mushrooms) contain beta-glucan which is a special type of fiber. Beta glucan lowers cholesterol, enhances immune response to infection, stabilizes blood sugar, lowers type 2 diabetes risk and protects against many cancers.
Whole grains also provide fiber, protein and carbohydrates which will give little ones energy and keep them full until lunch. Depending on the size of the bowl kids can get 2 or more servings of whole grains before the even leave the house.
Fruit-with bananas and applesauce they've also had at least one or more servings of fruit.
We love oatmeal at our house! This was a good reminder for us to get back to eating it each morning - so much more nutritious than most cold cereals. And both of my kids will eat it. Thanks for the ideas on how to add some nutritious and yummy things to it.
ReplyDeleteWe love oatmeal at my house! I eat it pretty much every morning and my 2 year old loves it, too! My favorite thing to put it in is peanut butter! Yes...PEANUT BUTTER! Easy weekday breakfast for us is to put 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not the quick cook or instant, etc) into a bowl with 1 cup of water and big pinch of salt. Cook in microwave for 4 mins/45 seconds in 50% power (it will not explode in the microwave!). Take it out and put a heaping spoonful of peanut butter in it (we only eat natural peanut butter at home... our favorite is Smucker's natural chunky style, or the kind at Whole Foods where you grind your own. Stir it up, and I take a couple of spoonfuls for my 2 yo and I eat the rest. YUM!!
ReplyDeletewe have never tried it with peanut butter. i put the left over pumpkin in when i bake and have a little left from the can. it's good with choc. chips. it's almost like desert. i will have to try it with peanut butter.
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