How to eat oats

Oats are one of the world’s healthiest foods. From helping to balance blood sugar, keep weight down, soothing skin and lowering cholesterol – oats do it all. Perhaps you love a bowl of plain porridge every morning, but we’re guessing you’d like some ideas on how to include this humble super-grain into your daily diet. Read on to find out more!

Porridge

The original oat breakfast, porridge has been enjoyed in some form or another for thousands of years. Inexpensive, filling and endlessly adaptable – porridge is also the ideal 21^st century breakfast. A bowl of oats offers the opportunity to tick many of the boxes on your daily nutritional needs. Oats have fibre, iron, and they become a complete protein with the addition of a scattering of nuts or seeds. Seeds, such as chia or flaxseed, will also offer you omega-3 essential fatty acids. The addition of a handful of blueberries or raspberries gives a boost of vitamins, including vitamin C. To save on the cost of fresh berries, try stocking up on bags of frozen berries. Add them to your oats before microwaving or heating in the pan, stirring regularly, until the oats begin to bubble. Try our three easy porridge recipes

Homemade muesli

Granola is delicious but can contain more sugar than a bar of chocolate. Make your own muesli instead, using rolled oats, seeds and the dried fruit of your choice. The amounts are up to you – experiment! Try adding chopped dates, crushed walnuts, grated carrot and cinnamon for an authentic carrot cake flavour without the sugar. We recommend oat milk, hemp seed milk or soya milk for an extra nutty flavour.

Overnight bowls

Overnight oats are simply rolled oats stirred into milk or water and left to absorb the liquid in the fridge overnight. This makes for a really creamy texture which is the perfect blank canvas for a variety of sweet flavours. Use twice as much liquid as oats to ensure the right consistency. Add nuts and seeds in the morning to get that contrast of soft and crunchy textures in every mouthful. Add chia seeds the night before, which will absorb liquid and swell to form a jammy texture. Chia seeds are full of fibre, antioxidants and protein. Try our Turmeric, Ginger & Manuka Honey Overnight Oats for an anti-inflammatory breakfast.

Baking

Use quick-cook oats when baking for wholesome biscuits, muffins and cookies. Add a handful of oats to the batter mixture along with a little extra milk or switch up a quarter of the flour for quick-cook oats. It’s best to use the quick-cook kind for baking because the finer texture means they will hold their shape better. Rolled oats can be too coarse for muffins and biscuits but are great in flapjacks. Try our Peanut Butter & Banana Oat Muffins recipe.

Protein balls

For an energy-dense snack which is full of protein, try an oat and nut protein ball. You can buy these at health food shops, or you could have a go at making your own. Oats and nuts together offer a complete protein. You’ll need to blend rolled oats and your favourite nut butter in a food processor until smooth. Quantities are up to you, but you’re looking for a firm texture that holds its shape. From there, you can add dates, chia seeds, honey or agave syrup, protein powder or cinnamon – the list is endless. Once you’ve made your protein balls, pop them on a tray in the freezer to set (around an hour). Try our Cacao, Oats and Peanut Butter bites recipe. Shop Food & Drink Last updated: 30 April 2020