Oats are awesome - a love letter

OK, so that might seem a little over the top, but with all the hype around so-called "superfoods" we can overlook some humble (and awesome) ingredients.

Oats. Porridge, muesli, bread, muffins, smoothies - such a versatile ingredient.

Jazz up your porridge with some stewed or fresh fruit (which will sweeten your breakfast naturally), and you've already ticked off one of your 5+ a day. Sweet as.

Oats are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fibre: they help keep you feeling fuller for longer, help lower cholesterol, are good for bowel health, and supply food for your gut bacteria (prebiotics).

I've made a lot of porridge in my time, and here's a list of some of my favourite combos:

• Apple, cinnamon & walnut

• Tamarillo, brown sugar & almonds

• Banana, maple syrup & pecan

• Pear, ginger & coconut

• Blueberry, cocoa & Brazil nut

• Orange, date & pistachio

Breakfast Smoothie

If you're a bit short on time in the morning, you can throw some calcium-fortified milk into a blender along with a banana, 1/4 cup of rolled oats, a pinch of cinnamon and a couple of tablespoons full of unsweetened yoghurt - voila! If you want to get fancy, you could add a teaspoon of ground chia seeds for some Omega 3 fatty acids and extra protein and fibre.

Make your own muesli

You can use 6 cups of oats as a base for your own personalised muesli recipe. I use wholegrain oats, which bumps up the fibre content even more, keeping me fuller for longer. Sometimes I also add wheatgerm for vitamin E and extra fibre. Then you can add whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you like. You can choose to toast the muesli or leave it untoasted, depending on your preference.

#oats #breakfast #porridge #smoothie #muesli #fibre