For the longest time in my teens and early twenties, I didn’t eat breakfast. And I also didn’t feel my best during the day. At some point during my undergrad education, all those nutrition classes took hold and I got wise to the breakfast game. And ever since, oatmeal has been a go to for me. It tastes good, it is filling, and you can flavor it in endless different ways. One of the downsides, though, is it isn’t always the quickest thing to prepare.
Enter overnight oats. I would love to meet the person who started the overnight oats craze because they just might be some sort of secret genius. Taking an already delicious breakfast, adding more fruit to the mix while allowing it to be easier to prepare? Maybe that’s not so secret genius.
Pinterest and internetland are full of ideas and recipes for overnight oats, but I thought I’d throw my version out there too. My version is more of a method than an actual recipe, but that works for me since I can swap things out for whichever ingredients I happen to have on hand.
The method is as follows:
½ cup of quick cooking oats + ½ cup of fruit or veggie puree + ½ cup of milk + seasonings of choice
Dump all of that into a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Shake and let it hang out in the fridge, you know, overnight.
My current favorite version of this method involves using pureed mixed berries. I basically just dump 16 oz of frozen mixed berries and a ripe banana into the blender and puree until it has a soft serve sort of consistency. Sometimes I add a frozen acai pack because extra antioxidants never hurt anyone. But if I don’t have them around, they are easily omitted. I also add a bit of shredded coconut as my seasoning.
I tend to favor plant based milks lately. The older I get, the less my tummy and skin appreciate dairy milk. Cashew milk is amazing in overnight oats. It has a really nice creamy consistency but without the strong flavor that almond milk can sometimes have.
When you wake up in the morning, you can eat the soaked oat mixture cold or warm depending on your taste. Oh, yeah, don’t forget to top it with something yummy.
I prefer to eat this version cold topped with sliced banana and more berries. And peanut butter. Because peanut butter is my jam. Yes, I said that on purpose.
Are you still on the overnight oats bandwagon? What is your favorite combo, let us know in the comments!
