How to Prepare Nutritious Overnight Oats for Busy On The Go People.

Being a student, athlete or a 9-5 grinder is all about time management.

Balancing your studies, practice, working life and a social life is a full on job in itself. Now add essentials such as nutrition, training and sleep, and unfortunately something has got to give. Most of the time it is a busy 9-5er’s nutrition and recovery that take a hit. Lack of sleep and poor food choices can leave you under-recovered and at risk of unhealthy weight gain.

Enter overnight oats!

Overnight oats are a no-cook method of making oats. Instead of cooking your oats on a stovetop or in the microwave, you mix your oats with the liquid and ingredients of your choice and leave it in the fridge overnight.

If you enjoy squeezing every last second of sleep, especially when you have early morning meeting, this is simply the breakfast option for you. Add overnight oats to your meal prep toolbox for a nutritious, efficient grab-and-go breakfast.

How To Prepare Your Overnight Oats.

There are only a few essentials. You need a container. You can use a jam jar, plastic container or a shaker bottle. Of course you need oats (rolled oats, gluten-free oats or steel cut), your favourite milk (coconut, almond, cow, soy, etc.) and chia seeds. The chia seeds will soak up the milk, expand to give you a nice creamy texture and they are packed with nutrition benefits including protein, fibre and omega-3 fatty acids.

Once you have your essentials, you can customise your recipe with a few more ingredients based on your preferences. Keep it simple by adding 3 to 5 ingredients from the following categories:

Fruit

Berries (blueberries, strawberries, etc.)
Dried Fruit (raisins, goji, dates)
Banana (chopped, sliced or mashed)
Tropical (pineapple, mango, peaches)

Nuts and Seeds

Almonds
Hemp Seeds
Pecans
Brazil Nuts
Pumpkin Seeds
Walnuts
Flax Seed

Spices

Cinnamon
Cocoa Powder
Vanilla Extract
Nutmeg
Salt

Sweetener

Honey
Coconut Sugar
Dates
Stevia
Truvia
Real Fruit Jams

Protein

Whey
Plain Greek Yogurt
Vegan Protein Powder

Flavour Bombs

Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Dark Chocolate Chips
Nut Butter
Lemon/ Orange Zest

Once you put all your ingredients in the jar, mix it up and store in the fridge overnight. Now all you need to do is roll out of bed, grab your jar and go. To get you started here is a quick and easy recipe.

Chocolate Almond Butter Overnight Oats