http://www.care2.com/greenliving/lower-your-cholesterol-the-tasty-way.html
Lower Your Cholesterol: The Tasty Way
By Scott Cooney, Green Options
Oatmeal has gotten a bad rap. Kids (and adults) may view it as a health food with all the flavor of drywall. There are a lot of ways to get kids of all ages to wake up and WANT oatmeal for their breakfast of choice.
Of course, the health benefits are clear. I’m 34, and while I don’t worry about this kind of stuff, my family history of very high cholesterol had me wondering about the claim Wilford Brimley made about Quaker oats removing cholesterol from your bloodstream. So I decided to run a little self-experiment. In one year, my cholesterol dropped from over 300 down to 164. Call me a believer. (For other articles on cholesterol, check out Conquer High Cholesterol and Lowering Cholesterol the Natural Way.)
But what about that drywall?
I found that oatmeal is one of the most versatile breakfasts you can imagine. Because you’re cooking it (as opposed to dry cereal which you just add milk to), there are any number of things you can work into the pot. My personal favorite combination is a scoop of peanut butter, a handful of raw, unprocessed cacao nibs, and some shredded coconut. I have experimented with all of the following, and would heartily recommend them in just about any combination:
- Cacao nibs (raw, unprocessed chocolate).
- shredded coconut
- peanut butter
- raisins
- freshly ground flax seeds
- crumbled almonds and/or walnuts
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
Top with just about any kind of fruit and some yogurt, and you have yourself a meal made for a king, in under ten minutes for the whole family (faster if you use “quick oats”).
Green Options Media is a network of environmentally-focused blogs providing users with the information needed to make sustainable choices. Written by experienced professionals, Green Options Media’s blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. We invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance.
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6 comments
add your comment »I hate oatmeal. I don't care how nutritious it is or how it helps lower cholesterol, I can't eat the stuff. The texture repulses me. I like oatmeal in baked goods, but those usually contain butter and other ingredients that would cancel out oatmeal's benefits.
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C'mon, oatmeal? Is that all you got on lowering cholesterol? Why we are wasting time reading and responding to this?
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My favourite is rolled oats cooked with either chopped dried dates or figs and a small amount of cocoa powder. As long as you don't add sugar, it is also diabetic friendly. Yum, yum.
Another soak overnight one, is orange juice and shredded apple. Yummy ... sorry gotta go now, mouth is watering too much ...
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One of my favourite oatmeal breakfasts (especially during the warmer weather) is European-style muesli:
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 or 3 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp apple juice
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 apple, chopped (skin on preferred)
raisins or other dried fruit, chopped
big pinch of cinnamon (optional)
milk for soaking
brown sugar or honey to taste
Soak oatmeal and raisins (or other dried fruit) in just enough milk to cover, 4 hrs or overnight. Add remaining ingredients, mix gently and serve. I like adding halved grapes, diced peaches, strawberries, bananas, whatever is in season and of course whatever you like! Enjoy... :o)
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I do not even cook the oats... I mix them with milled flaxseed, nuts and cocoa, add frozen berries, pour some soy milk over it, mix again and put it in the fridge in the EVENING, nice and soft in the morning and you save even more time :-)
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I love oatmeal and used to cook it, with cinnamon, nutmeg and chunks of apples and raisins..ummmmmmmmmmm... only, sadly, I can only treat myself to it once in a while now, as high uric acid levels in my system mean cutting out oats.. sniff sniff...Another wonderful additive is peach slices, and mace, or nutmeg... pears and carob chips, and a touch of cinnamon...well I could go on! It's got to be the most versatile warm food around!
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