We eat more oatmeal now than at any other time of the year (January is actually National Oatmeal Month) – maybe that’s why it looks like it’s popping up on menus all over the place.  Lately, it seems as if nearly every coffee place and fast food joint is jumping on the oatmeal bandwagon.  And why not?  It’s quick to make, it’s tasty, it’s comforting and it’s inexpensive. And, since it’s viewed as a health food, it’s a pretty easy sell.  But in looking at the nutritional value of some of these new products, oatmeal’s health halo is getting a tad tarnished.

Oatmeal’s reputation as a healthy food got a big boost about 20 years ago, when studies began demonstrating that oats (specifically, the bran) could help lower cholesterol levels.  In response, food manufacturers began trotting out oat bran-laden garlic bread and brownies, and oat bran-dusted potato chips and donuts.

A dash of oat bran tossed into a muffin certainly doesn’t transform it into a health food, but that’s how the health halo works – “if it’s made with oats, it must be healthy”.   Plain oatmeal is one thing – but load it up with sweeteners, jam, sugar-coated nuts and banana chips and you’re veering off the path of healthy eating.

So here’s the rub. Cook up some steel-cut oats or some rolled oats at home, and you’ve got yourself a healthy whole-grain breakfast for only about 150 calories per serving. Even with a dash of honey and some chopped fresh fruit, you’re still looking at around 250 calories for an average bowl.

A packet of flavored instant oatmeal racks up about the same calories, but has 12 times the sugar of the plain rolled oats.  And the portions are tiny – most people I talk to usually eat two packets at a time.  So now you’ve got twice the calories and 24 times the sugar of the plain grain.

And now that the fast food places and coffee houses have jumped into the fray, it’s buyer beware.

It’s the add-ins that do you in – the granola crumble, the sugary nuts, the jam, the banana chips.  A tablespoon of brown sugar will set you back 50 calories (and believe me, most add a lot more than a tablespoon), a sprinkle of dried fruit or nuts can cost another 100 or so – and suddenly there’s more calories on top of the cereal than in the cereal itself.   The oatmeal offered at one chain is topped with dried fruit, honey-roasted almonds and strawberry compote (ahem, jam) to the tune of 470 calories and 10 grams of fat.  You may as well have a burger and a medium-sized soda for breakfast.

To be fair, not all the oatmeal offerings are off the charts – and most are certainly better than some of the other fast food breakfast fare out there (sausages dipped in pancake batter and fried, anyone?).

But if you’re going to pick up some oatmeal rather than make it yourself, do pay attention to the nutritional facts – especially if you’re going to couple that oatmeal with a calorie-laden coffee drink.  And don’t add insult to injury by adding more sugar and cream from the condiment bar.

Also, take a lesson from those who’ve learned that “just a coffee and a muffin” can set them back as much as 800 calories. Unless you’re careful, “just a coffee and some oatmeal” could do just as much damage.

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

3 Responses to “Healthy Oatmeal”

1. stuntman says:

   February 19, 2011 at 4:01 pm

   This site is known as a walk-by for all the information you wished about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse right here, and you’ll undoubtedly uncover it.
2. Oatmeal Calories says:

   July 25, 2011 at 10:25 am

   I think my problem is using two packets, and picking out all the flavored ones instead of the most healthy for me…

   Is it better to use water or skim milk?
3. susanb says:

   August 2, 2011 at 12:58 pm

   Hi-
   It’s true that a single oatmeal packet is a fairly small portion. Here’s something you might try to make it more filling: start with one of the lower-calorie packets (if not a plain variety, then just a lightly sweetened version). To make it more satisfying, you’ll want to boost the protein, so prepare with nonfat milk or soy milk, and then after it’s cooked, stir a scoop of protein powder into the cooked oatmeal. Add a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of brown sugar, and that little bowl of oatmeal should last you for a few hours.