Overnight Oats

I am extremely excited to announce that the girls over at In The Know Mom have recently asked me to join their team and it is with great honor that I accepted their offer.

This is more or less a copy of the first post that I contributed to the site.

After stumbling upon this article I deciced that I would do a series of posts on the FIRST and most important meal of the day: BREAKFAST! This is such a passionate subject for me too! I just looooovebreakfast. So this will be the FIRST of a series of posts dedicated to what has to be my favourite meal of the day. And to think I used to NEVER do breakfast… Shame!

Just the other day, my brother was telling me about how he rarely has breakfast anymore, because he totally doesn’t know that to have for quick, on the run breakfasts, aside from grabbing a couple of toasts or pour himself a bowl of boxed cereal. Not the best choices!

What would make a great breakfast selection? Oatmeal, for one. That would be a very healthy option. Now, of course, I can already hear you say, oatmeal takes soooo long to cook and, quite frankly, can be a little bit on the boring side. Not if you  kick it up a notch! Oatmeal happens to be a big favorite of mine, and it will be pleasure to share a couple of ways that I’ve kicked mine up several notches…

But today, I want to show you a very simple, incredibly quick and convenient alternative to good old fashion oatmeal: overgnight oats. Basically all there is to it is you need to soak your oats and grains for the night and when you get up in the morning, there all good and ready to go. Up until recently, I didn’t even know that it was possible to do that, so I figure there must be plenty more like me out there. I tell you, this technique is a great one to know!

The recipe below is for this one version, but once you get the hang of it, you can really experiment with all sorts of grains, seeds and fruits. Be careful though, you might very well get hooked on this. I think it is just as addictive to prepare as it is to eat!

Ingredients
(1 serving)

• ¼ cup oats (steel cut or old fashioned)
• 1 tbsp bulgur wheat
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp millet
• 1½ tbsp budwig mix
  (contains flaxseeds, buckwheat, raw almonds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds)
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• ¾ cup boiling water

• 2 tbsp vanilla protein powder
• ¼ cup milk (I use unsweetened soy)

Instructions

The previous night

• Bring water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a plastic container with a fitting lid, mix all ingredients except for protein powder and milk. Add boiling water, stir until well combined. Put the lid on and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours)

In the morning

• Stir in protein powder. Transfer to serving bowl and add milk.
• Top with fresh fruits and / or nuts, if desired.
• Voilà! In less than 2 minutes, you’re ready to eat breakfast that’s as good to eat as it is for you!