Is there a big difference between the natural rolled oats oatmeal and just regular flavored instant oatmeal? I am not taking about the sugary stuff, but the regular kind which says it contains no sugar and the ingredient lists whole rolled oats.
Yes. Most of the instant kinds are more refined. Not only that, the oats are not the Old Fashioned style, which is what you want. You want the big chunky oats, not the ground up oats that you find in those instant packages.
Ingrediants: 100% rolled oats
That is what you want.
Well, rolled oats are instant, maybe they just individuall packaged them? Probably cheaper just to buy the big tube.
I just add water to the oats, a little salt, microwave on 50% for 2 minutes, stir, another 2 minutes, then eat.
Scottish steel cut oats, on the other hand, take about 25 minutes of prep.
I could be wrong though, instant rolled oats might be cut differently to make them more “instant”.
Andy
Rumbach, they are. They’re ground up and thus have a completely different GI. Try eating a package of instant and then a cup of old fashioned. They only a few more seconds in the microwave, but you’ll stay full longer and feel more like you had a decent meal. That instant crap makes me feel like I just ate some instant crap.
Personally, I don’t see why everyone’s so crazy about rolled oats when they can buy steel cut or whole oats. You would choose those over rolled oats for the same reason you’d choose plain rolled oats over flavored oatmeal.
Real men eat steel cut! 
JBraswell:
I agree that steelcut oats are by far the best tasting type, especially when using the offset-steaming method.
But, they take time and energy, so I say “bleh”.
Real men eat rolled oats dry, I say, or mixed with cod-liver oil.
I believe some instant oats have salt in them.
Steel-cut oats rock!