The Ingredients Spotlight is designed to give you the chance to find out more about some of the natural foods I use in my kitchen. Hopefully, it will help you to make wiser choices when you’re shopping, cooking, and eating out. Knowing why food is good for you and how it works in your body can also help to keep you on track. This week, I featured a lovely Bircher muesli recipe that contains a long list of natural ingredients. Let’s take a closer look at one of those now.

Oats

Oats are my grain of choice for breakfast. Hot or cold, they are just so delicious and satisfying first thing in the morning. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they are naturally high in unsaturated fats. Oats are also naturally gluten-free and contain beta-glucan, a type of fibre that is believed to help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL). Because of the beta-glucan, oats are digested at a slower rate than other grains and cause less disruption to blood sugar levels.

More natural oats come in three basic forms:

Whole oats often referred to as groats (or berries) have the inedible hulls removed but retain the all-important bran and germ.

Steel-cut oats are simply whole oats that have been sliced into smaller pieces.

Rolled or Flaked oats are steamed, sliced, and rolled oat groats.

Quick or instant-oats are a very thinly sliced and more heavily rolled version of a Rolled oat. Processed or unprocessed, all oats are still regarded as whole grains. However, because quick and instant oats are more processed, the starch converts to sugar quicker than it does in rolled or whole oats, causing more disruption to blood sugar levels. You may also find that quick and instant oat products are loaded with unnatural ingredients. They are a less natural choice than whole or rolled oats, which also taste and look a lot better.

Oats, like all whole grains, contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors in the bran, which block the absorption of many minerals, including magnesium, zinc, and calcium. Many people also find the starchy carbohydrates and gluten in grains difficult to break down in the stomach. The answer lies in soaking, sprouting, or fermenting, age-old techniques that make whole grains more nutritious and easier to digest.

Soaking and fermenting whole grains with a little whey, some yoghurt, or an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar helps to break down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, as well as the gluten. It also increases the amount of vitamins in the grains. Most whole grains are best soaked in a warm liquid, at room temperature, for at least eight hours.

Oats are steamed before the hulls are removed. As a result, they have a longer shelf life than most other grains, but it is still wise to keep them somewhere cool and dry. I store my oats in a large preserving jar at the back of the pantry. This way they will keep for many months.