OATMEAL: NOT AS GREAT AS YOU THOUGHT
– By Jacklyn Fernandez, RHN
Newsflash: Oatmeal isn’t necessarily the best breakfast.
Paleo (grain-free)
banana walnut bread
It’s not that oatmeal is ‘unhealthy’, more often it’s about
the way in which you may be preparing it and how this can
be the culprit for your weight gain – or lack of weight loss.
For many women, extra weight can be stored in the hips
and thighs, as for men in the “beer belly” gut. Regular exercise
and mobility naturally decreases with age, and before you
know it, we’ve gained 20 (plus) pounds that won’t go away.
Mary Vance, Certified Holistic Nutritionist from California
explains why oatmeal is not considered the best breakfast:
“1 cup of cooked oatmeal has 28 grams of carbs and 6 grams
of protein. You’re probably not eating it plain, so let’s say you’re
adding a banana and some honey to it. That’s an additional
44 grams of carbs. That puts your breakfast at 72 grams of
carb and about 32 grams of sugars – that’s 8 teaspoons of
sugar for breakfast!”
Mary further explains, “Because there is little protein and
fibre in this meal, the grains break down quickly into sugars.
Since only so much glucose is needed in the cell, the rest is
converted to fat and stored.”
Mary suggests skipping grains altogether, all grains, including
rice, corn, quinoa, beans, lentils, many nuts and seeds –
especially if you’re trying to lose weight and have more energy.
She says studies have indicated that not many people are able
to properly digest these carbohydrates, especially first thing in
the morning, and that a diet that provides fibre, meats, good
fats, and vegetables, may be the solution and that trying this
“grain free diet” for a week or two, may surprise you.
Many of these grain-free breakfast alternatives are
available on Mary’s website: www.maryvancenc.com
The following are some grain-free alternatives you can enjoy
for both breakfast or as a snack. •
shake up your wake up!
Don’t let your body get ‘used to’ eating the same
thing every single morning! Just as the body
can “plateau” when exercising and it seems like
you no longer lose weight, it can sometimes
use a little breakfast switch... Enjoy a variety of
breakfasts and experiment with different types –
even dinner for breakfast!
Life’s too short not to experiment!
14
The taste of this “grain-free flower” bread
will surprise you – it’s delicious and moist, so
healthy you can even enjoy it for breakfast!
Ingredients
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 Cup maple syrup
• 1/4 Cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 Cup walnuts
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a bread loaf pan by
spraying with cooking oil or butter.
Mash bananas using a fork, then add eggs, coconut oil,
honey, syrup and apple sauce; mix well until thoroughly
combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flours and baking soda,
then pour wet ingredients and mix until just combined
(don’t overmix).
Add walnuts and mix until just combined.
Pour batter in loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes
until browned and toothpick comes out dry. Cool on a
cooling rack, then remove and enjoy!
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