As we welcome in the New Year, I have a piece of advice: It’s the little steps that make the difference, and help you reach your goals and resolutions.

If eating healthier is on your to-do list in 2025, start with one thing you can do. My suggestion? Add oatmeal to your morning routine. Why oatmeal?

Studies show that oats and oatmeal have a lot of health benefits, from weight loss to reduced risk of heart disease. More importantly, oats are packed with fiber — something we all need to focus on getting more of — as well as high-quality protein. Oats are also a good source of manganese, copper, thiamin, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus. A cup of oats has 5.3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, 27.4 grams of carbohydrates, 2.6 grams of fat and 153 calories.

Oats’ biggest health benefit is the beta-glucan fiber, which reduces blood glucose and insulin response, increases the good bacteria in the digestive tract, and reduces both total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Because oats are filling, they have properties that make them helpful for weight loss.

Simply put, oats are among the healthiest grains on Earth. They come in a lot of varieties — and I don’t mean instant packet flavors. Instant oats are the most processed variety, which may take less time to cook, but also end up mushy. The most intact and whole form of oats are oat groats, which do take a long time to cook, but you can shorten that with rolled oats, crushed oats or steel-cut. They’re all simply versions of oats.

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My father ate oatmeal nearly every morning of his 95 years. He made it on the stove using traditional (rolled) oats. I got hooked after finding a Jane Fonda recipe (remember her?) that cooked the oats in apple juice or cider and added apples and cinnamon.

Ali Slagle of The New York Times recommends cooking oatmeal in a skillet instead of a pot to add creaminess to the oats. She combines oats, milk, maple syrup, water and a pinch of salt and cooks it for seven minutes; then she stirs in toasted nuts, fruit, jam or nut butter.

Baked oatmeal offers the best of both worlds, combining milk, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter and vanilla with oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. The mixture is poured into a pan, sprinkled with fruit and nuts, baked, and then cut into squares. The egg makes a fluffier dish and helps bind the oatmeal so it can be cut into squares.

If that’s just too much for a morning, try making overnight oats the night before (half a cup of traditional oats, half a cup of milk and any toppings you like) and letting it sit covered in the refrigerator overnight. You can eat it the next morning hot or cold.

In the culinary medicine elective course for medical students that I help teach, we make a couple of versions of homemade granola (chocolate coconut and cranberry orange pecan) and serve it with yogurt for a filling breakfast. Here are three of my favorite recipes:

Cranberry Orange Pecan Granola

1 large zested orange
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups old-fashioned oats
¼ cup raw pecans, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup reduced-sugar dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the orange zest and sugar. Mix until fragrant. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, salt, cinnamon and orange sugar. Stir to mix. Add the oil and maple syrup; then mix until evenly distributed. Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake granola for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until the granola turns a light-golden color. Set aside to let cool. Once cooled, stir in the dried cranberries. Store in a covered container.

BAKED: There are so many ways to enjoy oatmeal — baked, in overnight oats or homemade granola, even added to meatloaf or smoothies to boost the fiber. This baked oatmeal recipe was adapted from a recipe in The New York Times.

Baked Oatmeal

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups milk
2 cups traditional oatmeal
1 egg
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1 to 2 overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the milk, egg, brown sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, mashed banana and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Add the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, until just set in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for five minutes; then scoop onto plates or cut into squares and serve with additional maple syrup on the side, if desired. Serves six.

Note: Other fruits or dried fruits can be used, as well as nuts, seeds or coconut spread on top before baking. This recipe was adapted from The New York Times.

Jane Fonda’s Apple-Raisin Oatmeal

2½ cups apple cider or apple juice
¼ cup raisins
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ cups rolled oats
½ cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cider or juice to a boil. Stir in the raisins, apple and cinnamon; reduce heat to low and simmer for two minutes. Stir in the oats. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed, and the oats are creamy, about six minutes. To serve, divide among four individual bowls. Top each with an equal amount of yogurt and nutmeg. Serves four.