My newest obsession…. Overnight Oats!

Posted by thesensitivefoodie on July 21, 2014 in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Hi there! It’s been so long since I last posted. I’ve sort of gone into winter hibernation I think. Business has been crazy busy and we have been getting ourselves ready for our trip to Italy, which is now only 2 weeks away – YAY!! Super excited, and a bit nervous. I’ve been busily trying to get as much work done in advance and thought we had it all sorted so it would be pretty smooth running while we were away, and then things have sort of gone a bit wobbly in the past week. Suppose it’s to be expected, was looking too easy to be away for 5 weeks 🙂

Anyway, I have been on a mission to downsize before our trip. I haven’t lost as much as I wanted to, but think that 13kg in the past 12 months is pretty good, and I think doing it slowly is letting me adjust and keep making progress. My stumbling block has always been breakfast. I’ve hated it all my life, probably because it is generally always contained gluten, cows milk &/or eggs, and made me sick….or it tastes like cardboard.. Until I discovered overnight oats! If you’ve seen my Instagram account, you will already know that I am a little obsessed with them (@thesensitivefoodie)

I love them, they are so creamy and delicious. For some reason, I much prefer my oats this way over cooked, its a different texture that I really like. I love that I can make them up at night and just grab them and eat them quickly in the morning, if it takes an time or effort in the mornings for me, it’s just not going to happen. I’m a 20 minute up, showed, made up, dressed, breakfast & out the door kind of girl. For the first time in my life the thought of breakfast isn’t a chore, I wake up looking forward to my oats each morning.  I mix up different flavour combinations, so it doesn’t get boring. They keep me full for hours, I can have them at 8am and not even think about lunch until 2pm. My weigh-loss has definitely picked up since I started eating them each day, I notice if I miss them, I snack most of the day and end up eating junk. And my hubby loves them too, which is handy 🙂 I didn’t intend to post about oats, but I have had so many people asking how I make them, that I thought I’d post it.

 

Basic Recipe (This is just the base I use for all mine, if you want a simple recipe, just eat it like this –  I add other ingredients to mine – see my favourite recipe and variations below)

1/3 cup gluten free rolled oats (I prefer to use organic)

1/2 cup almond or coconut milk (or milk of choice – oat, soy, dairy, etc)

2 heaped tablespoons of coconut yoghurt (My favourite brand is Alpine Coconut Yoghurt , or you can use any yoghurt of choice – cows, goat, soy, etc)

1 teaspoon maple syrup (or sweetener of choice – agave, sugar, etc)

a few drops of pure vanilla extract

Directions – Mix together well, cover and leave in fridge overnight. Ready to eat in the morning

My Favourite Recipe

1/3 cup gluten free rolled oats (I prefer to use organic)

1/2 cup almond or coconut milk (or milk of choice – oat, soy, dairy, etc)

1 tablespoon hemp seeds

1 tablespoon LSA (ground linseed, sunflower and almonds)

1 tablespoon dried goji berries

2 heaped tablespoons of coconut yoghurt (My favourite brand is Alpine Coconut Yoghurt , or you can use any yoghurt of choice – cows, goat, soy, etc)

1 teaspoon maple syrup (or sweetener of choice – agave, sugar, etc)

2 teaspoon cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

a few drops of pure vanilla extract

Directions – Mix together well, cover and leave in fridge overnight. Ready to eat in the morning – just add berries, nuts, chia seeds etc

 

Other this to try

In mixture try adding teaspoons of as many of the following to mix up the flavours – cacao powder, maca, mesquite, protein powder, acai powder, dried or fresh fruit, different spices, peanut butter, chia seeds (I prefer not to add to mixture, I found it made the oats too firm). pretty much whatever takes your fancy.

Toppings – I like to use fresh berries, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nuts, coconut flakes, bee pollen, etc as above, you can top them with pretty much anything you like.