Breakfast Cereals: Assessing Whether They Actually Have a Benefit

Modern people are always in a hurry to get somewhere. Therefore, multicookers, semi-finished products and simply ready-made products that just need to be heated in the microwave are very helpful. A healthy lifestyle requires a complete and tasty breakfast. But many people are too lazy to even cook porridge or an omelette. Breakfast cereals serve as a replacement. Before eating such breakfasts, it is important to understand how harmful breakfast cereals are and whether they actually have any benefits.

The benefits and harms of oatmeal

Oatmeal strengthens and cleanses blood vessels.
Oatmeal contains many vitamins and microelements and is included in the mandatory list of foods for children, athletes, and people losing weight. Contains fiber, easily digestible protein.

Benefit:

• B vitamins have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems and help fight infectious pathologies;
• strengthens nails, reduces the risk of developing vision problems, slows down the aging process;
• strengthens, cleanses blood vessels, supports the functioning of the heart muscle;
• increases metabolic rate, regulates water-salt balance;
• improves mood;
• contains folic acid, which is necessary for pregnant women;
• alleviates the condition of toxicosis;
• increases testosterone levels in men;
• prevents the formation of blood clots and the development of varicose veins;
• strengthens bone tissue, teeth, muscles;
• improves digestion, cleanses the body of toxic substances and toxins;
• increases immunity, prevents the formation of malignant tumors;
• supports the functioning of the liver and brain, improves performance, attention, eliminates fatigue, drowsiness;
• promotes better absorption of hemoglobin.

Despite its benefits and rich composition, oatmeal can cause harm to the body if consumed incorrectly or if there are contraindications.

With constant consumption of oatmeal, there is a risk of developing celiac disease. With this disease, the intestinal villi stop working and nutrients are not absorbed. Oatmeal should not be given to children under one year of age; it is contraindicated for people with severe kidney pathologies.

Oat grains contain phytic acid, which leaches calcium from the body. With excessive consumption of the product, osteoporosis develops. Nutritionists recommend consuming oatmeal no more than 3 times a week.

Smoothie Recipes

The fashion for smoothies came to us from the USA. Among those who want to lose weight, raw foodists, vegetarians and other adherents of a healthy lifestyle, foamy cocktails with the addition of herbs, fruits, berries, and vegetables are popular.

All the beneficial substances of the ingredients are preserved in the finished drink. This vitamin bomb heals the intestinal microflora, gives energy to athletes, restores the strength of patients and, of course, helps to lose excess weight.

Prepare smoothies in a powerful blender with a tall mug or in a food processor. A low-power device will not be able to grind food to a uniform consistency. Try a few simple recipes for making this tasty, thick drink.

Smoothie with milk

Place in blender:

• a tablespoon of soaked cereal or rolled oats;
• banana, cut into large pieces;
• a teaspoon of honey;
• a glass of milk;
• a glass of hot boiled water.

Whisk the mixture and pour into glasses. A sweet, foamy drink with banana flavor will make a satisfying, pleasant and easy breakfast.

Cocktails are a boundless field for experimentation. If you pour more water or milk, you get a thin drink; if you want a creamy mass, add more yogurt and fruit.

Thick smoothie with cinnamon and yogurt

Ingredients for whipping:

• 3 tablespoons of rolled oats;
• 1 sliced ​​banana;
• yogurt packaging;
• a glass of milk;
• a little ground cinnamon.

Pour hot milk over the cereal and leave for 5 minutes. Place the ingredients in a blender and blend for half a minute. Pour into glasses, sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top.

Smoothie with kefir

If you want to lose weight as much as possible, try a smoothie with kefir; it contains 75 kcal per 100 grams of the drink. Its components:

• 1 apple;
• 150 g kefir;
• a tablespoon of rolled oats;
• 1 banana;
• a teaspoon of wheat bran;
• a glass of hot water.

Pour hot water over the flakes and bran and steam them for 5-10 minutes. Cut the apple and banana into large pieces. Place everything in a blender and beat. Not enough sweetness? Add a teaspoon of maple syrup and whisk again. A delicious dietary dish is ready!

Types of oatmeal

Oat flakes Hercules
All the benefits of oatmeal are in the shells of the grains. During processing, the shell is partially or completely removed. Types of oatmeal:

1. Oat groats. Whole oat grains without hard shells.
2. Crushed oatmeal. Obtained from whole crushed grains.
3. Oat flakes Hercules. Flattened grains.

Oatmeal is slowly digested, gives a feeling of fullness for a long time, improves the functioning of the digestive system, and replenishes the deficiency of vitamins and minerals.

Introducing oats into other dishes

Proponents of a healthy diet and those who want to lose weight include oats and oat flakes in many dishes. Whole grains are put into soups, and jelly, traditional for Rus', is prepared from it. They buy ready-made muesli with dried fruits, granola, where the cereal is baked with honey and nuts. Instead of butter cookies, oatmeal bread is eaten.

Below are some tips on how to incorporate healthy foods into other dishes.

1. Dry oatmeal is easily ground in a coffee grinder. Add the resulting flour to pancakes, pancakes and other baked goods.
2. Fry the oatmeal in a dry frying pan until it turns beige. This type of oatmeal was widely used by our ancestors: they sprinkled it on potato gates, northern shangi, and berries, such as lingonberries.
3. Dredge fish in oatmeal and add flakes instead of breadcrumbs to cutlets. They don't turn out to be as high in calories.

We recommend eating flakes with kefir and fermented baked milk, yogurt and yogurt. Just making lazy oatmeal in a jar. Pour milk or yogurt over the tender flakes, stir and leave overnight. Add candied fruits, fruits or berries if desired. The cold dish is eaten in the morning and taken with you to work, school, or training.

Oatmeal selection criteria

Candied fruits and dried fruits make oatmeal more tasty.
Oatmeal is a healthy and dietary food product, ideal for weight loss and children's menus. Refined whole grains and cereals are equally healthy, only the cooking time is different. Although many adherents of proper nutrition believe that you only need to eat rolled oats.

Main selection criteria:

1. Grinding Porridge made from small flakes cleanses the intestines worse. But it is safer for children and the elderly. It is better to buy medium-sized flakes.
2. Supplements Candied fruits and dried fruits make oatmeal tastier. But these supplements increase the amount of fast carbohydrates and increase the glycemic index. This product is not suitable for weight loss.
3. Color and smell. Good flakes of white, creamy yellow color with some brown flecks. A rancid smell is a sign of an expired product or a violation of storage conditions.
4. Bran. Bran is a powder made from crushed grain shells and contains a lot of fiber. Oatmeal with bran saturates, promotes weight loss, cleanses the intestinal walls, and improves peristalsis. The glycemic index of bran is 15 units. But wheat bran contains gluten, which should be taken into account by people with celiac disease.
5. Sealing of packaging.

In a healthy, high-quality product, the amount of sugar is no more than 5 g per 100 g of cereal. The amount of fiber is more than 6 g per 100 g of product.

Making homemade cereal

You can try making your own sweet cereal. The recipe requires the use of only three ingredients: water, flour (any, for example, corn, buckwheat, oatmeal) and sugar.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. First you need to cook the sugar syrup by mixing equal amounts of sugar and water. Pour the mixture into a heat-resistant container, put on fire and cook until thickened.
2. Now add the pre-sifted flour into the syrup, mix everything and cook for about another hour or longer to get a dense and thick mass.
3. The mixture must be allowed to cool. Next, take it out, roll it into a layer with a rolling pin and dry it a little. Now you can cut it with a knife or break it.
4. The blanks need to be dried at 280 degrees in the oven until they acquire a beautiful golden hue.
5. Done, you can eat the cereal!

What does the price depend on?

There is no gluten in whole grain cereals.
Oatmeal is an inexpensive product. Whole grains are cheaper than instant porridge. What indicators influence the price:

1. Manufacturer. Oatmeal from popular companies is more expensive. The domestic product is cheaper than the imported one, even with an identical composition.
2. Production technology. On some packages you can see the inscription that the product contains gluten. This is due to the fact that oat grains are crushed using the same equipment as rye and wheat. Whole grain cereals do not contain gluten.

The best manufacturers are Mistral, Uvelka, Russian Product, Nestle, Nordic, Myllyn Paras.

Production technology

Before oats enter factories for production, they are pre-cleaned from agricultural impurities; if the humidity is too high, they are sent to the dryer, since an appropriate level of humidity guarantees safe, long-term storage of raw materials.

All operations performed and current parameters obtained must be recorded by the grain warehouse service. It is important that the storage of oats in production is at the proper level.

The process of obtaining the finished product involves cooking cereals in an evaporator followed by grinding in crushing machines. The product then enters the flake dryer where it is dried and cooled. To separate the flour from them, they must be passed through a mesh separator.

The process of obtaining the finished product involves the use of steam, which can be obtained by burning oat husks, which significantly reduces the cost of operating this production.

Flakes with additives

Additional components increase the usefulness of oatmeal. The variety of flavors allows you to alternate porridges.

Uvelka Oat flakes with wheat bran - radical cleansing of the intestines

Medium-sized cut flakes with added fiber are a source of dietary fiber. Fiber binds bad cholesterol, lowers blood sugar levels, removes toxins and heavy metal salts from the body.

Advantages:

• does not contain sugar, GMOs, preservatives, dyes;
• cooking time – 5 minutes;
• price;
• box design.

Flaws:

• contains gluten.

Uvelka porridge does not need to be cooked. The average size of the cut allows you to steam them or pour them with kefir for 15-20 minutes.

WOW! Oatmeal porridge with cherries and apples – tasty and aromatic

Lenten porridge without sugar with pieces of dried cherries and apples. Does not require cooking, has a pronounced cherry aroma. The product may contain nuts, peanuts, and sesame in small quantities.

Advantages:

• fine grinding;
• ease of preparation;
• taste and smell.

Flaws:

• packaging volume;
• few berries;
• fresh;
• price;
• not always on sale;
• flavorings included.

Mistral Whole grain oatmeal porridge Assorted fruit flavors - a healthy family breakfast

Oatmeal porridge without cooking in 40 g bags. The package contains porridge with 3 flavors - mango-peach, pear-apple, strawberry-banana smoothie. Only 6 bags.

Advantages:

• variety of tastes;
• ease of preparation;
• packaging, design, detailed instructions;
• smell, taste;
• price.

Flaws:

• contains sugar, dry cream, the product contains lactose, milk protein, vegetable fats;
• hard;
• cloying;
• small portion for an adult;
• There is no tear line on the bag.

Russian Product Hercules Instant oatmeal porridge Q10 with Pineapple and chia seeds - tasty, healthy, modern

Oatmeal without cooking in bags of 50. Contains oat flakes, dried pineapple, black chia seeds, collagen protein, coenzyme Q10. Traces of peanuts, nuts, milk, gluten may be present.

Advantages:

• compound;
• lots of pineapple pieces;
• ease of preparation;
• convenient portion bags;
• design, packaging;
• taste, smell;
• sugarless.

Flaws:

• price;
• serving size.

The best oatmeal brand. Hercules. Oatmeal for 13 or 58 rubles? Let's compare...

Oatmeal is a very healthy and satisfying food. Oatmeal porridge for breakfast gives you a lot of energy, and this allows you to feel energetic and full for a long time during the day.

Going to the store again, we bought two packs of oatmeal, and at the same time decided to make a review for our channel.

self photo

For comparison, we bought some of the most expensive cereals on the shelf and the cheapest ones as usual. In this article we will try to compare the quality of expensive and cheap flakes. Is it possible to save money when purchasing, or is it still better not to skimp and buy expensive oatmeal for making porridge?

Of the expensive cereals, we chose the Yasno Solnyshko brand, the cost of which was 58 rubles 99 kopecks per package weighing 500 grams.

The cheapest oat flakes in the store are represented by the brand “TCHN” (What you need!). The price for a 400 gram package of these flakes was 13 rubles 69 kopecks.

“TCHN” flakes are 4 times cheaper than “Yasno Solnyshko” brand flakes!

When dry, both brands of flakes look almost identical, without foreign impurities and without husks. Only the flakes from TCHN are slightly smaller than the flakes from the Yasno Solnyshko brand.

Now let's try to compare the taste and quality of our flakes after cooking. We cooked it in water and milk (as we like) for 15-20 minutes, then simmered for another 5 minutes, and this is what we got, adding a little butter:

Ready-made porridge from “TCHN” flakes

Ready-made cereal porridge “Clear Sun”

Both porridges turned out delicious and, most importantly, taste indistinguishable from each other. And if you add fruits or berries to the porridge, it will be even tastier)

Based on the results of the “comparison,” we concluded that when buying oat flakes, you can safely buy cheap “TCHN” oat flakes.

Flakes without additives

From oatmeal without additives you can make delicious porridge or dessert, dietary cookies, and lean cutlets.

Myllyn Paras 1928 Instant oat flakes – delicious porridge in just a minute

Thin flakes of whole grain oats, without preservatives or additives. The product contains vitamins and mineral components. Can be used to make dietary pies, bread, desserts, or added to kefir and yogurt.

Advantages:

• quality;
• compound;
• cooking time;
• price.

Flaws:

• gluten, traces of lactose in the composition;
• fine grinding of grains;
• after opening the package, moths quickly appear in the porridge;
• the taste is weak.

Yasno Solnyshko Oat flakes No. 2 – all the benefits of whole grains

Wheat germ and bran were subjected to minimal heat treatment to preserve all beneficial substances. But at the same time, the flakes are smaller in size than whole ones, so they can be filled with kefir instead of boiling water.

Advantages:

• whole grain flakes with high purity quality;
• cooking time – 5 minutes;
• taste;
• large packaging;
• suitable as a base for oatmeal cookies;
• contains no preservatives or other hazardous substances;
• price.

Flaws:

• low scrubbing properties;
• carbohydrates are underreported;
• inconvenient packaging;
• gluten in the composition – 8-9% of 500 g.

Clear Sun flakes took first place in the Roskontrol rating.

Nordic Oat flakes - nothing extra

Whole grain oat flakes without salt, sugar or other additives. Cooking time – 5 minutes.

Advantages:

• quality, grain grinding;
• organoleptic characteristics, taste without bitterness;
• consistency of the finished porridge;
• boil over;
• composition without preservatives, GMOs, pesticides.

Flaws:

• price;
• high peroxide value of fat - raises doubts about the freshness of the product;
• high acidity;
• beetles are often encountered;
• inconvenient packaging;
• high ash content is a sign of insufficient purification of grains from films.

Useful tips

Finally, some useful tips:

• Alternate different cereals to enrich your body with all the beneficial substances.
• You can mix cereal to get a nutritious breakfast, enriched with minerals, vitamins, macro- and microelements.
• When buying cereal, carefully study its composition. Ideally, it should contain nothing but grains. Also inspect the packaging to assess its integrity and tightness. And the fresher the cereal, the better.
• Store the product in a closed container, putting it in a cool place protected from light.
• Remember that flakes may have some contraindications, and these should be clarified in advance. Allergic reactions (especially to gluten) and individual hypersensitivity are also possible.

Cereals are not only a simple and satisfying breakfast, but also a nutritious and healthy product if prepared and consumed correctly.

How to improve the taste of oatmeal

Maple syrup
Not everyone likes oatmeal, and it’s difficult to get a child to eat a healthy product. Some additives can help turn regular cereal into a gourmet breakfast.

Tasty and healthy additives for porridge:

1. Maple syrup. Contains B vitamins, calcium, potassium. The product improves the functioning of the immune system, reduces the risk of developing cancer pathologies, cleanses the blood, and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
2. Coconut flakes. Contains vitamin A, E, iron, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium. Oatmeal with coconut improves peristalsis, brain activity, normalizes blood circulation, and the functioning of the nervous system.
3. Cinnamon. A source of B vitamins, magnesium, iodine, phosphorus, iron. The aromatic porridge improves metabolic processes, the functioning of the nervous system, and the condition of the skin and hair. Prevents the appearance and development of diabetes.
4. Raisin. Due to the presence of vitamin B6, potassium, copper, manganese, fiber, it normalizes digestion, metabolism, and strengthens bone tissue.

Other tasty additions include grated cheese, herbs, berries, flax seeds, crushed almonds.

Nuances of use

Can everyone eat cereal for breakfast? Not really. They are contraindicated for the following problems:

• caries, because consumption of this food will lead to the destruction of enamel;
• diabetes;
• allergy;
• thrombophlebitis, increased blood clotting;
• obesity;
• oncology;
• problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

To saturate the body with useful substances, nutritionists recommend pouring this product with yogurt or kefir, adding dried fruits and berries. This will prolong the feeling of fullness and enrich the body with fiber.

Cleansing the intestines

By consuming healthy fiber, you can get rid of blockages in the intestines, the weight of which sometimes reaches 10–15 kg. Which, you see, is a lot for those who want to lose weight. How to cleanse the intestines?

• Decoction

To obtain a decoction, pour 3 cups of oatmeal with 3 liters of water and boil for 20 minutes. Cover the pan and leave for 24 hours. Strain, heat the liquid to 30 degrees and dissolve 100 grams of honey in it. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the broth and put it in the refrigerator. To cleanse the intestines, drink a glass of decoction three times a day on an empty stomach, before meals, for a month.

• Scrub

Intestinal scrub is what this recipe is called. Pour a quarter cup of cold water over 2 tablespoons of oatmeal. Pour in a tablespoon of boiled milk and leave the mixture to swell until the morning. In the morning, drink a glass of unboiled water. After half an hour, on an empty stomach, eat the previously prepared porridge without salt and sugar, you can add only a little honey and nuts. Do not drink oatmeal with anything, do not eat anything for 3 hours. The procedure thoroughly cleanses the intestines.

Often recommended for children

Food manufacturers specifically target children.

Companies use bright colors, cartoon characters and action figures to attract children's attention.

Not surprisingly, this causes children to associate breakfast cereals with entertainment and fun.

This also affects taste preferences. Research shows that some children prefer the taste of foods that feature popular cartoon characters. (, )

Exposure to food marketing is even considered a risk factor for childhood obesity and other diet-related diseases. ()

These same products often mislead about health.

While colors and cartoon designs make products more appealing to children, health claims make parents feel better about purchasing such products for their children.

What to remember

Breakfast cereal manufacturers are experts at marketing, especially to children. They use bright colors and popular cartoons to attract children's attention, which research shows influences taste preferences.

What problems might arise?

Let's talk about the problems of losing weight. Due to unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, a person becomes a skeptic in this matter. Dietary restrictions do not bring joy, and the pounds you lost with difficulty come back. How to consistently lose weight without discomfort, achieving the desired result?

Advice: to keep your weight steadily decreasing, stop losing weight by eye. The balance of calories you take in and then burn out needs to be controlled. Weigh your food and keep a food and exercise diary.

Those who go on a hike to get slim are forced to limit their caloric intake. With a lack of carbohydrates, a person’s performance decreases, he experiences fatigue, drowsiness, and irritability. In this case, the scale arrow may stand still.

How to maintain normal health and lose weight at the same time? Experts advise: eat oatmeal every day. Cereal carbohydrates provide energy, but are digested slowly and are not converted into fats.

Another problem for those losing weight: due to the small amount of food at one time, a food bolus slowly forms. How to stimulate bowel function? Oat fiber helps out, it improves gastrointestinal motility. Which oatmeal is best to buy for weight loss? The one with more coarse fibers.