Recipe: Overnight Oats

I’m not a morning person.

I’ve been meaning to get this post live for a good couple of weeks, but it just hasn’t happened. Turns out overnight oats are really difficult to photograph, especially in the morning, bleary-eyed, pre-7:30am. Like I said, not a morning person.

I hate eating breakfast at the best of time (brunch, post 10am, absolutely no problem!), but since moving to London it’s been a no-go. It would be a struggle to fit eating into my morning routine, but the biggest issue is that I know damn well my stomach would not, well, stomach both a bus journey and train trip after some food, pre-8:30… After a few sneaky trips to Sainsbury’s for Pain au Chocolat I decided that was a sure way to both regaining (in weight) and losing (from my bank balance) crucial pounds. Overnight oats it was.

The pinterest-champion of breakfasts (poached eggs take the insta-crown obvs), Overnight Oats are the perfect combination of a filling breakfast, that takes next-to-no time in the morning and only a little prep the night before. And they aren’t horrendously bad for you either!

It’s taken a bit of playing around with the ingredients, but I reckon I’ve gotten it pretty much spot on now.

Ingredients – for one serving, that keeps me going until 2pm and even fills up my boyfriend…

• 30g oats
• 1/2 teaspoon of chia seeds
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/2 banana
• 90g of milk, using dairy-free if it floats your boat
• Optional – 1 tsp of peanut butter, nutella, etc…
• Toppings – seeds, cocoa nibs, nuts, berries…take your pick!

Simply mash the banana, and add to a jar with the rest of the ingredients. Mix really well with a fork (you want the chia seeds evenly dispersed), cover and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, simply scatter over your toppings. My go-to is mixed seeds with raspberries, though blueberries are also pretty damn yummy!

If you’re adding nutella or peanut butter, I highly recommend ‘mashing’ it into the banana as it makes it easier to mix.

My oats tend to be out of the fridge for a good two hours before I get chance to eat them, and this gives them chance to get a bit ‘gooier’ than they are cold – if you like add a little extra milk if you are eating them sooner.

And as an added tip, making them simply (no p-but or nutella) with Chocolate Soya milk is a pretty good idea.

Overnight Oats have become my go-to breakfast, but I’ve also eaten a spoonful here and there as a desert – they are so creamy and delicious, it’s hard to think of them as just a breakfast food!

What is your go-to breakfast?