In my bad old Wall Street days – before Skelly and I were such good friends – my idea of breakfast was a cigarette and a cup of coffee. As my Skelly likes to say, “We’ve come a long way, Baby!”

These days I take breakfast seriously. In a minute I’ll tell you about my favorite go-to morning food ritual.

Like me, chances are you grew up eating a ton of cold breakfast cereals like Frosted Flakes, Kix, and Rice Krispies. Maybe over the years you graduated to Special K, Fiber One, or even Kashi Go Lean.

Clients often ask me which breakfast cereal is best for your bones. My answer is always the same:

none of the above.

You see, breakfast cereals are not real food. Most are processed food products loaded with sugar, salt, gluten, chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives. And worst of all, most cereals are chock full of GMO ingredients. Even the ones that claim to be “all natural.”

Recently the Cornucopia Institute issued its “Cereal Scorecard.” It found that many so-called healthy brands like Kashi (owned by Kellogg’s), Whole Foods, Udi’s, and Newman’s Own have high levels of GMOs.[i]

These cereals put convenience and marketing ahead of your health and nutrition.

Instead of these fake foods I feed my bones a nourishing bowl of hot organic oatmeal many mornings. And it doesn’t take a ton of time. You’ll see when I show you my foolproof shortcut in a minute.

I love oatmeal in the morning because it fills me up and keeps me satisfied for hours. And it’s delicious. Skelly loves it because it keeps her strong.

I use gluten-free oatmeal. Gluten can trigger inflammation that contributes to osteoporosis. For some, when you eat gluten it breaks down tiny microvilli in your gut that are designed to absorb proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. So if you’re sensitive to gluten, your body is probably not absorbing the magnesium, or vitamins D and K that you need to rebuild bones.

In fact, a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found a gluten-free diet dramatically improved bone density in people with celiac disease.[ii]

Oatmeal is also a good source of bone-friendly manganese.

This trace mineral helps your body absorb calcium, and form bones, collagen, and connective tissue. Low manganese levels are linked to poor bone formation and high fracture rates.

And oatmeal provides your bones with calcium, magnesium, and zinc.

Now here’s my easy breezy secret to making oatmeal for your bones every morning.

The night before, put a cup of steel cut oats in a pot or bowl. Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and two cups of water. Cover and let the oats soak overnight.

The next day, I rinse the oats, add some more water – about a cup and a half – bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook for about 20 minutes. I usually go take a shower, and when I come back I have oatmeal!

Soaking grains the night before helps break down anti-nutrients like phytic acid that can block your body from absorbing minerals like calcium. Soaking with apple cider vinegar also releases a digestive enzyme called phytase that helps your body process hard-to-digest proteins in grains.

Once your oatmeal is soaked and cooked, you can start adding whatever you like. You can add almond milk and almond butter for more calcium and magnesium. Sometimes I add fresh or frozen blueberries for bone-protecting antioxidants, vitamin C, and more manganese.

You can add raisins, sesame seeds, or walnuts if you prefer.

Here’s my “best breakfast cereal” cook-once-eat-three-times recipe.

Click HERE for your printed version

Bone Healthy Oatmeal
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic steel cut oats (soaked overnight in 2 cups water and 1 TB of apple cider vinegar)
• 1 ½  cups water
• ¼ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
• Dash of sea salt
• ¼ cup coconut or almond milk
• 1 TB hemp seeds
• 1 cup fresh or frozen wild organic blueberries
• almond butter (optional) or ghee - some sort of fat

Prep:

1. Soak oats over night with one tablespoon of vinegar.
2. In the morning drain soaking water and rinse oats.
3. Bring fresh water, soaked oats, cinnamon, and salt to a boil.
4. Reduce flame to low and cover.
5. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Top with coconut or almond milk, hemp seeds, and berries.

I also add a tablespoon of almond butter for the fat.

My question for you.

When it comes to choosing the right foods to optimize your bone health, what is the single biggest challenge, frustration or problem you’ve been struggling with?

Please let me know so I can write content that meets your needs.

Plus I have wonderful alkaline salad dressing waiting for you on the other side to thank you for your time 🙂.
Click here to share your challenges ----> HERE

From my delicious bones to yours....spring is a comin'!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[i] The Cornucopia Institute, Organic Cereal Scorecard. https://cornucopia.org/cereal-scorecard/

[ii] Stenson WF, Newberry R, Lorenz R, Baldus C, Civitelli R. Increased prevalence of celiac disease and need for routine screening among patients with osteoporosis. Archives of Internal Medicine; vol. 165, pp. 393-399, Feb. 28, 2005

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