I hear a lot that buying a big tub of rolled oats and just taking the extra time to make it yourself is better, but why?
The packet oatmeal is 160 calories per 40g and the rolled oats are 150 calories per 40g. Its less but not by much. Is there some other benefit that I’m not seeing?
I get that the instant oatmeal has more sugar but I’m probably going to add something to the rolled oats anyway so its probably going to come out to at least 160. Whether thats a touch of sugar or fruit or peanut butter or whatever.
Are rolled oats just more filling or something? Everyone I know tells me the instant packets are worse, but I don’t get it. I guess I could have just made some instead of asking strangers. I don’t know why I didn’t lmao.
Oats and sugar have a very similar caloric density, so a packet of \~40g is going to be approximately the same calories regardless of how much of that 40g is oats and how much of that 40g is sugar. If a packet of flavored instant oatmeal has 12g sugar, that means that there are only \~28g oats. So you’re basically getting less oatmeal with the instant packets. A bowl of oatmeal made with 40g plain oats is going to be a larger portion size than a bowl of oatmeal made with a 40g packet of flavored oats.
Rolled oats also retain other nutrients better than their more processed cousins, the instant oat. If you’re only worried about calories, fine. If you’re worried about actually feeding yourself the most nutritious option, regular extra thick rolled oats is the way to go outside of maybe steel cut, even if only marginally. For me it’s sometimes the difference between hitting the macros and not
Instant oatmeal is easier to digest, and an important part of oatmeal is that it’s slow to digest, easier to digest = higher glycemic index = eating more in the long run.
just eat raw old style oats, soak them in milk or yogurt.
If you want to make your oats really yummy toast them first.
If your making oatmeal heat up the pot first with a little butter and then throw in your rolled oats and cook them for about 2 minutes or until you get a toasty aroma from them.
Then add your water or milk and finish cooking. Yum.
You can also toast them on a sheet in the oven or toaster oven. And then have them as cold cereal with milk. Also yum. No sugar needed.
what are the ingredients of the instant oats packet? if the only ingredient is oats, then it’s nutritionally similar to rolled oats. rolled oats is usually just bigger chunks of compressed oat grain, while instant/quick oats are smaller chunks. because rolled oats are bigger, they take longer to digest and may raise your blood glucose in a slower and more sustained manner than quick oats (which is a good thing). i personally buy quick/instant oats because for some reason it’s usually half the price of rolled oats, and a third the price of steel cut oats, although all three products are practically the same thing.
You need to look at the ingredient list not the calories. Who cares about the calories. That is not what determines whether that food is healthy or not. Oatmeal that is not organic is heavily sprayed with toxic pesticides and has tons of phytic acid if not prepped and soaked properly before cooking. Organic rolled oats are your healthiest option.
You would never add as much sugar to oats as what comes in a packet. “One packet of Quaker Instant Oatmeal in the maple and brown sugar flavor contains 12 grams of sugar, about half of the recommended daily limit of 25 grams. “ That’s three teaspoons of sugar for just that little amount in a packet.
And why would you add sugar to oats? Unflavored yogurt and/or fruit and/or nuts and/or spices are great.
On a sidenote, I was kind of amazed to see that oats are really high in protein - every site seems to have different figures, but looks like it’s almost as high in protein as tofu -
Other than price I don’t think there’s much difference… if you plan to use oats for bulk baking or other recipes like pancakes, rolled oats is the common sense choice because of price
Of course, this is assuming you’re buying the non flavored instant oats
Instant oats easier to digest + most of the time contains a lot of added sugar.
If you want sweet oatmeal, which tastes like a chocolate cookie, and is without all that extra calories, that sugar has, use - MyProtein flav drops with your choosen taste. Yes, artificial sweeteners shouldn’t be used daily, but it can help to lower your cravings for sweets if you use in moderatore amounts. FlavDrops contains sucralose (0 calories).
I use steel cut oats
Pour the oats into a big microwave bowl 1/3 or half full Add a bunch of peanut butter,turmeric , cayenne pepper , Splenda , evaporated milk fill the bowl with water stir very well , microwave on high for 5-7 minutes. Check if it needs more time or water then add some water and cook a few minutes longer . Let it cool on the counter once it’s cooled put it in a zip lock bag throw it into the fridge ,and add to protein shakes. Yah yah I know it sounds terrible but it’s good the peanut butter covers the taste of the tumeric (which is very good for you) cayenne is good for you , try it !
Simple, I can buy a massive bag of oats the size of my torso (I’m a small short woman) for a couple of quid and add sugar if I want or just some frozen fruit, mix with a little milk, microwave (zap) it for 2 mins and done
I use plain minute oats instead of premade packages and I will choose minute oats over rolled any day lol I love the texture of minute oats so much more. But that could be an unpopular opinion. As long as the oats are unflavored there isn’t much difference. Some people say rolled oats have more fiber but the nutrition facts on my can say they’re the same 🤷🏼♀️ I personally find minute oats more satisfying/filling but I also eat them with peanut butter, yogurt, and berries so that could play a role as well
The problem is you are saying instant oatmeal has more sugar. That is false. You can easily buy instant oatmeal with no added sugar and it’ll have the same calories as plain steel cut oats per gram. It’s called “plain flavor”. Use your eyes and read the label instead of the misinformation people post on here. People seem to think rolled oats are some kind of wonder superior alternative to instant oats. If you take rolled oats and put them in a blender and grind them up, they turn into instant oatmeal. Nothing was added at all.
Instant pack of oatmeal is packed with sugar. Rolled oats is just oats, it’s better to add your own sweetener with fruits or honey. I think rolled oats are better because you can control how much you want. With instant packs sometimes you need two or three just to fill you up.
I like to make 1/3 cup oats with 1/3 of water and 1/3 of milk, nuke it for 3 min. Then add whatever fruit I have with honey and some cinnamon. It fills me up.