If you are on the journey to shedding a few extra pounds, Oatmeal can be your new best friend. A great way to add whole grain into your diet, having an oatmeal breakfast makes for a grand start.

Easy to cook and cheap, oatmeal can be delicious if you cook it in new ways every now and then. Oats are rich in fibre and aid in keeping your blood-sugar level stable. It also lowers cholesterol naturally and is known to be a rich source of minerals, such as vitamin B, magnesium and antioxidants.

Oatmeal comes in a variety of flavours and you can experiment with these flavours to see what you like best. You have the old-fashioned rolled oats, the quick/minute cooking oats, instant oats and steelcut/Irish/Scottish oats. Whichever variety of oats you choose, it is understood that eating it in the same preparation will become boring and mundane, pushing you to opt for another preparation. So here are a few healthy and tasty oatmeal stir-ins and toppings.

Add Spices

Add ground spices, such as cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or cardamom in your oats.

Dry Fruit Toppings

Chopped dry fruit like dates, pears, raisins, dry cranberries, apricot, fig, walnut, almonds and pecan give the oatmeal a crunchy and delicious taste.

Add in Fresh Fruits

Fresh fruits are another way to add flavour and freshness to oats. Simply slice or
chop fresh fruits like strawberries, peach, apricot, apples, bananas, blueberry, raspberries or cherries and make it a ‘berry’ good oatmeal.

Coconut or Cheese Topping!

Shredded coconut or cheese (grated) tastes divine in a bowl of warm oatmeal.

Eggs

Take a boiled egg and cut in before adding it into oats. Even a poached egg tastes great.

Add some Sweetness

If you like things sweet, add honey to oats instead of sugar and keep it healthy. You can also add peanut butter or apple sauce to an oatmeal bowl.

If you watch your calorie intake very closely, then you can add some maple syrup, strawberry jam or cashews to add flavour to oats.

Try out these toppings and stir-ins if you like variety in your healthy morning nibbles. A warm bowl of oats will not only give you lots of fiber, it will also fill you up and reduce your hunger pangs till lunch hour.