Baby It’s Hot Outside
Aww, July! It’s the month when it really starts feeling like summer. The heat is turned up, barbeques are everywhere and the lazy routine of summer has finally started to feel comfortable, somewhat. Gardens are in full bloom and ever bountiful. Peaches and nectarines are showing up in the market place and berries are on sale everywhere! But July is also bittersweet. July means that summer is almost over. Since summer is almost over it means we should be savoring every last minute of our time dedicated to fun, right?
The last few days in the country have been HOT! And it looks like it’s not going to get cooler any time soon. When temperatures are hot most people want to spend as little time as possible in front of a hot stove or oven, unless you’re BBQ’ing of course. We also know that breakfast is a very important meal. I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like hot oats on a hot day and I don’t want to stand over a hot stove making the oats either. What’s the perfect solution?
Overnight Oats!!!There are so many options for overnight oats and, in my opinion, are creamier and tastier than hot oatmeal. And the best part about overnight oats is you don’t have to make anything in the morning for breakfast. You can just open the fridge grab your jar of oats, turn on your favorite movie or start reading your favorite book and eat. That’s it! You can put anything you want in the oats; chia seeds, nuts, honey, maple syrup, cocoa powder, coconut, peanut butter, any fruit, any milk! So grab yourself some oats and some fresh peaches or berries and feel more than satisfied with your easy healthy and tasty breakfast.
First, I’ll give you a base recipe for overnight oats to get your imagination rolling.
Recipe for Classic Overnight Oats (Base Recipe)
Serving size: 1
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (heaping rolled or steel cut oats preferably steel)
- 2/3 cup unsweetened plant-base milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax meal
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 0-2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup (optional)
Put all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Pour mixture into a jar or container with a tight fitting lid. Close the container or jar with the lid and refrigerate and soak for at least 5 hours. Overnight soaking will have better texture. After soaking add nuts or peanut butter, fruit, coconut flakes, and more chia seeds. (As a side note, if you do not want to add any type of sweetener but still want a little bit of sweetness just add half of a ripe banana). Can be stored up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oats
Use the classic overnight oats recipe but add 1 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter.
Recipe and article written by: Melyssa Chen, nutrition intern
