Overnight Oats are a seriously quick and easy way to get a healthy breakfast, in no time at all.
Similar to porridge, oats are creamy and tasty. However, they require no cooking and can be prepared in a matter of minutes the night before.
Oats are a highly-nutritious whole grain that can help to keep blood sugar levels stable due to their high fibre content. They also have more protein than most other grains.
Oats contain beta-glucan - a fibre that helps maintain blood sugar levels and can help to improve insulin sensitivity.
They are also a great source of minerals such as manganese, magnesium and iron and also contain antioxidants that have been suggested to help the reduction of blood pressure. Therefore oats are a great choice for breakfast and can be used in various recipes such as porridge, in baking and smoothies.
My favourite go-to for breakfast are these Overnight Oats because they are so easy to prepare and I can simply grab them and go in the morning (so no excuses that you don't have time for breakfast!).
The basic recipe I use for Overnight Oats looks like this:
Ingredients
- 50g oats
- 100ml whole milk
- 100g Greek yoghurt (Total 0% Fat Yoghurt)
Method
Mix all of the ingredients together, cover and refrigerate.
Macros:
Calories: 299 Carbs: 37.9g Fat: 7.6g Protein: 19.7g
I always add delicious toppings for my overnight oats to keep them tasty and interesting. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Prepare your berry compote by heating 75g of frozen berries in a pan until they completely break down and form compote.
- Top your oats with two spoonfuls of compote and store the remaining mixture in the fridge.
- Cover your oats with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
- You can vary this recipe by adding frozen fruits straight from the freezer as they will come down by the next day and you could add nuts and seeds too.
- Add half a scoop of chocolate protein powder, 1 tsp plain cocoa powder and 1 tsp of coconut oil.
- Mix well and top with dried coconut.
- You could also use coconut milk instead of cow's milk to make the base for this recipe.
- Add half a tsp of ground ginger and 15g of raisins.
- Mix well and then add one scoop of vanilla protein.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Slice up five strawberries and add to the oats with 1.5 tbsp of vanilla or strawberry protein powder.
- Add 2 tsp of cream cheese, the zest of half a lemon and top with chopped nuts for an extra crunch.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Add 50g of coconut milk instead of the Greek yoghurt and mix well.
- Add 50g of diced mango and 50g of diced pineapple.
- Mix well, cover and refrigerate.
- Top up with almond or coconut milk.
- Add half a sliced banana, half tsp of honey, 1 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened) and 1 tsp of peanut butter.
- Mix well and serve with grated 90% dark chocolate.
