Breakfast in 10 is a series of articles where I teach you tasty and nutritious breakfasts that you can make in 10 minutes (no jokes!). This week we're looking at Overnight Oats.
Ever dreamt of having dessert for breakfast? Yes, it's possible and bonus point, it's super easy and quick to make.
Overnight oats are one of my favourite make-ahead breakfast to take on-the-go on busy mornings.
Instead of skipping breakfast, learn to make delicious overnight oats. Are you ready to start?
HOW TO MAKE CHOCO OVERNIGHT OATS IN JAR
Ingredients:
2-4 tb of Rolled oats (1/4-1/2 cup)
1 tb of Grated coconut
1 tb of Dried raisins
1/2 - 1 tb of cocoa or cacao powder
1/2 cup of milk of your choice
1 banana
Optional: honey and peanut butter
No special equipment needed, just a jar with a lid and a tablespoon.
Method:
1. Use an empty jar, you can reuse any old jars you have (ie. jam jars). Recycling is cheaper, super trendy and is awesome for the environment!
2. Add 2-4 tablespoons of oats.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of dried raisins and 1 tablespoon of grated coconut for added natural sweetness.
4. Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cocoa or cacao powder - if you like dark chocolate, add the full tablespoon otherwise stick to half tablespoon.
5. Fill up with your milk of choice and mix well.
7. For added sweetness, you can add some honey. Let's choose local brands as much as possible, so here is my little shout out to Miel Or - an awesome local producer of honey.
8. You can also add 1 teaspoon of peanut butter to make it creamy. Yum yum yummm! If you know me, you'll see that I add peanut butter to a LOT of things! :)
9. Store it in the fridge and let it soak for at least 3-4 hours but usually I recommend making it the night before.
10. Next morning, take the jar out, grab a banana and add it to your oats.
Note:
- If you don't like your breakfast cold, heat it up: pop it into a pan if you've got time or just microwave it quickly before adding the banana or any other fresh fruit.
- There are no specific brands that you need to use for the overnight oats. Just see what works within your budget and what is available.
Nutrition Facts about Oats
Oats are an excellent source of carbohydrates, rich in fibre and healthy fats. Yes oats, contains the good type of fats that protects your heart health and helps counterbalance the bad cholesterol in the blood. And the fibre helps to reduce the bad cholesterol from the body.
Oats are also excellent to control your blood glucose (sugar) levels - which means you get stable energy throughout the day, and if you have diabetes or risks of developing diabetes, oats are your best friend. Let's not forget how it feels you up for hours!
Soaking the oats (overnight oats) enhances digestion as the body is better able to utilise the nutrients in the oats. It's especially good to nourish your gut and promote good gut health for those frequently suffering from gut problems (bloating, indigestion, constipation, stomach burn). For the super geeks, the act of soaking makes oats high in resistant starch resulting in an excellent source of probiotics for your gut microbiome. Soaking the oats also reduces the amount of anti-nutrients it contains (physic acid). Simply put, soaked oats are super good for your gut health and more digestible than cooked oats.
I usually recommend rolled oats and oat big leaves as they are minimally processed, higher in nutrients and fill you up for longer compared to quick cooking oats.
What's not to love here?
The best thing about overnight oats is that you can make several jars at once and then store them in the fridge. You prepare breakfast for 3 to 4 days on one night, spending just about 10 minutes . And, you can make a different flavour everyday. There are so many recipes! I'll share some more recipes soon.
In the meantime, you can get some inspiration here - tomorrow I'm having blueberry, coconut and dark choc chips overnight oats.
I'm using frozen fruits as fresh fruits aren't readily available at the moment (lockdown food situation).
I hope I've convinced you that you can have a healthy yet super tasty breakfast :) in less than 10 minutes. Just grab and go!
If you like the recipes and the information that I share here, please do not hesitate to share the love with your friends and family. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for even more recipes :)