Go wild with oats

Can your whole family benefit from National Heart Month?  Yes!  Heart Health is not just for adults; it is actually important that you teach your young children how to eat healthy at a young age.  Eating heart healthy, nutrient-rich foods will help keep your family healthy, in the proper weight range and hopefully reduce their risk for disease later in life.

So this February, go wild with oats!  Oats are a whole grain rich in soluble fiber.  Soluble fiber can improve your overall health in a variety of ways:
• Fiber slows down digestion and thus gets you full faster and keeps you full longer
• Eating foods rich in fiber keep blood sugar and energy levels stable over the course of the day
• Fiber helps lower total cholesterol by binding to fiber and excreting out the body with it

Oats for breakfast!
• Make a warm bowl of oatmeal with low-fat milk and mix in chopped nuts to add protein and healthy fat to your morning!
• Make cinnamon toast with oat flour bread and top with natural peanut butter for a gooey, yummy brain-powered breakfast!

Oats for a snack!
• Your whole family will love peanut butter oatmeal balls!  Simply mix ½ cup peanut butter and ¼ cup honey.  Stir in ½ cup non-fat dry milk powder and 1 cup oats.  Roll into 22-24 balls and refrigerate.  A great fiber-rich snack for your husband’s busy schedule or your child’s lunch box!
• Blend ground oat flour into a smoothie with low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit for a beverage that will keep you and your kids more satisfied than juice.

Oats for dinner!
• Toast rolled oats and top you salad with a fiber-rich crunch!
• Instead of using bread crumbs to bread your chicken or fish, try ground oat flour.

If you have a question for the dietitian, visitwww.texashealth.org/askamy.
  

Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Registered Dietitian
Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine

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