The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving and oatmeal fun facts. As we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know.

We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know we will look at Oatmeal fun facts.

Oatmeal Fun Facts: Oats were one of the earliest cereals cultivated by man. They were known in ancient China as long ago as 7,000 B.C. The ancient Greeks were the first people known to have made a recognizable porridge (cereal) from oats.

  • Oats are used primarily as food for livestock, with only about 5% of the world crop being consumed by humans.
  • The most popular oatmeal toppings are: milk, sugar, fruit (raisins, bananas) and butter/margarine. Among the most unusual are: eggnog, peanut butter, cottage cheese and brewer’s yeast.
  • Oatmeal cookies are the number one non-cereal usage for oatmeal, followed by meatloaf.
  • Seventy-five percent of U.S. households have oatmeal in their cupboard.
  • Oatmeal is a bargain at less than 15 cents a serving.
  • Oatmeal is heart healthy. More than 37 scientific studies show that eating oatmeal daily as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may help reduce the risk of heart disease.
  • There are myriad types of oatmeal on the market – from old fashioned to instant. Rolled oats that have not been cut into small pieces are considered old fashioned and take about five minutes to cook. Old fashioned oats produce a chewier consistency. Instant oatmeal typically has sweeteners, other ingredients or flavors added.

Check out this recipe for Halloween Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies <here>

Key Dates

  • October 29th is National Oatmeal Day.
  • January is National Oatmeal Month.
  • March 18th is Oatmeal Cookie Day.

Oatmeal Fun Facts We Missed

Let us know if we may have missed some oatmeal fun facts in the comment section or our food truck forum. If we can verify the facts we will give the reader credit in the article.

Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about Oatmeal.

Find all of the National Food Holidays to spice up your food truck menu specials throughout the year.