A Useful Review – Bob’s Red Mill Instant Oatmeal

A lot of times, if I’m riding in the morning, and it’s going to be under two hours, I don’t eat before I go. Two cups of coffee and out the door. Fasted exercise can force your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrate, and also I’m pretty lazy first thing in the morning.

When I do eat, I try to eat oatmeal, because I know it’ll give me a long burn. Usually oatmeal has something to sweeten it. Maple syrup. Brown sugar. Apples. Cinnamon. Only sociopaths eat plain oatmeal. So you have a little sugar to burn, and then you have the oats to sustain you. Before a race or other event, oatmeal goes down easy. It’s a good thing to eat when you have some butterflies in your guts.

There are plenty of oatmeals out there, and sometimes I make my own, but more often than not I choose Bob’s Red Mill Instant. It’s fast. I trust the way it’s made, i.e. not over-sweetened but also using whole grain oats, and they have invested some money in cycling sponsorships in the past, and that has left me kindly disposed toward them, pretty much for eternity.

I’m an apple cinnamon man, in case you were curious, but they have maple brown sugar, because I know that’s who you are.  I like to get the box with 8 individual packs in it. Mostly I eat two. Sometimes I eat three. You can get them in single-serving cups also, which is good if you’re traveling.

These are available at most grocery stores.