Fiber

If you've set eyes on a brunch menu lately at anything fancier than, oh, an IHOP, surely you've glanced at the steel-cut oatmeal. Should you be watching your intake of certain delicious fats, upping your intake of fiber or simply feel like going a little lighter but no less tasty, consider steel-cut oats. Here's what they're made of. 

Make steel-cut oats your new vehicle for brown sugar, sliced fresh or dried fruit, berries, maple syrup, really whatever you were going to do to those pancakes. Plus, they're higher in fiber and lower in fat, which we're sure was your first thought when we suggested you swap pancakes for oatmeal.

If I had a nickel for every nutrition-related article that recommended subbing whole wheat pasta for regular, I'd have at least a dollar. Too bad whole wheat costs a buck more than that.