Oatmeal and why I love it

In my opinion, oatmeal gets a bad rap. It's made a comeback in recent years, especially due to the health conscious trend of overnight oats, but it feels as though social media helped the spread of people's homemade oat ideas and it has caught on. It got me thinking, where did oatmeal come from?

Let's align on what we are calling "oatmeal." What I am referring to when I say oatmeal is technically porridge, hot oat porridge made on the stove top and anything under that umbrella like instant oatmeal you can toss in the microwave. Now that we're on the same page, if we look at the history of porridge it goes back to the paleolithic era with hunter gatherer clans but it really taking off in the neolithic era. In history, oats and oatmeal become associated with the Scottish which had oats introduced to it around 600 AD, but traces of barley porridge have been found in pots excavated in the Outer Hebrides which have been dated to 2,500 years ago. 

Oatmeal been around a long time, imagine the many combinations of oatmeal and toppings. Think about what ancient humans we're dressing up their oatmeal with. It's amazing how versatile oatmeal is and the countless options you can add to your oatmeal to make it different. Even better, its nutritious. Oatmeal is good for you and is a good source of fiber. I want to hear about your favorite oatmeal toppings. For me, I love bananas in my oatmeal with some honey, cinnamon and peanut butter - a perfect breakfast. Drop your favorite oatmeal combinations in the comments below.