Cooking with oats for your health

Oats are one of the healthiest foods you can eat for breakfast — or any time. Learn which oats are which and how to incorporate them into your meals.

Some oats have been processed more or less than others. On the "less" end of the scale are steel-cut oats. The gylcemic load (GL) of less processed oats is about 20 percent lower than that of more processed forms, but even instant oats are a good source of fibre and have a moderate GL. Shop carefully for instant oatmeal, though; most brands have added sugar — as much as 20 millilitres (four teaspoons) per packet. Generally, only "regular" (unflavoured) instant oatmeal is sugar-free.

Oat groats: Oats that have been cleaned, toasted, hulled and cleaned again. These are the most minimally processed of all the oat varieties and must be soaked and cooked for a long time.

Steel-cut oats: Whole grain groats that have been cut into two or three pieces using steel disks. These take 30 to 45 minutes to cook and have a hearty oat flavour and a chewier texture than rolled oats.

Rolled (old–fashioned) oats: Oats that have been steamed, rolled, resteamed and toasted. They take about 15 minutes to cook.

Instant oats:

These are prepared the same way as rolled oats but cut into smaller pieces so they cook faster. No actual cooking is required; just pour boiling water over them and stir.

Oat flour: Flour made by grinding groats and separating out the bran. It is gluten-free.

Oat bran: This is made by grinding oat groats and separating the bran from the flour. It's higher in insoluble fiber than whole oats and can be prepared as a hot cereal like oatmeal.

• Don't substitute instant oats in a recipe that calls for quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats.
• The texture is different, and instant oats usually have other flavours added.

• Grind oats in the blender and use them to coat fish and chicken.
• Make a batch of oat bran muffins and keep them on hand for tasty breakfast treats.
• Next time you make pancakes or waffles, replace up to one-third of the flour in the batter with oatmeal ground to a fine powder in the blender.
• Bake up a tray of oatmeal cookies (using whole wheat flour in place of one-third of the white flour).
• Make fresh oat biscuits.
• Use oat flour as a thickener for stews and soups.
• For dessert, serve oat-rich fruit crisps and cobblers. Just watch the butter content. It's better to use a good-for-you brand of margarine such as Smart Balance instead.

Smart substitutions

• Instead of sugary cereal, have steel-cut or old-fashioned oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for a hearty and filling breakfast.
• Instead of bread crumbs, use oats in meat loaf and meatballs.
• Instead of all-purpose flour, substitute oat flour for a third of the all-purpose flour in baked goods.

By substituting oats in for your regular meals, you are almost sure to cut down significantly on your sugar intake and increase your fibre. It's a super-easy change in your diet that can have a huge impact on your health over time. There's no reason not to do it!

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