Overnight Oats for Busy Mornings :: Healthy, Easy, Delish!

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Busy Busy Busy

You have probably heard of overnight oats. Maybe you have even tried them yourself. They ran their course of popularity last year, and today I want to try to bring them back into your kitchen. Do you wonder, what is the big deal? Well, for one, since you prepare most of it the night before, it takes virtually no time away from your busy morning. Two, everyone loves the taste of these delicious oats! My kids gobble them right up and it makes them full until lunchtime at school. They are a winner for the whole family!

Overnight OatsBenefits of Oats

Oats have a lot of really important fiber called soluble fiber. Soluble fiber is the rock star of carbohydrates as it has been shown to reduce the “stickiness” of our blood. When our blood is less “sticky,” we have less risk of heart disease. It has the added benefit of helping food move through our digestive system, therefore preventing colon cancer and other digestive issues like constipation and diarrhea. The soluble fiber found in oats is also an amazing prebiotic (a precursor to probiotics) in the small intestine. There is a lot of new research showing many benefits of pre and probiotics in the gut.

Eating oats for breakfast is a great way to increase the amounts of those good bacteria in your digestive system!

How to Get Started

For one serving you will need:

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup steel cut oats

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup fruit

1 Tbsp slivered almonds

  1. The night before. Start with 1/3 cup of old fashioned or steel cut oats.
  2. The night before. Add 2/3 cup liquid of your choice: Choose from milk, keifer, greek yogurt, water, soy milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
  3. The night before. Add 1/4 tsp of a “sweet spice”: Choose from allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, or anise.
  4. The night before. Mix all ingredients in a bowl or mason jar. Cover and refrigerate over night.
  5. In the morning. Add 1/2 cup fruit: blueberries, strawberries, chopped mango, chopped apple. I prefer to use fresh fruit, but frozen works well also. If you decide to use frozen fruit, you may want to thaw it before you eat it in the morning.
  6. In the morning. Add 1 Tbsp nuts or seeds. Choose from chia seeds, hemp seeds, pecans or walnuts, or a nut butter.

Other Tips:

You may need to double or triple the recipe for your family.

If you use Greek yogurt you will increase the calories but also the protein. Add about 1/4 cup water to the recipe with Greek yogurt as it tends to be thicker than the other options.

Try using two or three different spices for different flavors.

You can do the same with the fruit and use a mix of berries.

Use peanut butter or almond butter for different flavors, but be careful as these will add more calories.

Share which is your favorite combination! Pair it with a turmeric latte or check out these other breakfast ideas.

Originally published October 2018.



The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ABQ Mom, its executive team, other contributors to the site, its sponsors or partners, or any organizations the aforementioned might be affiliated with.