Overnight Oats Workshop and Two New (Dairy Free) Recipes

One of my goals here at The Hippy Home is to share with people how to eat healthy no matter what your budget. Yesterday, I held an overnight oats workshop at my home. It was small and cozy, with four of us sharing ingredients and good conversation while we made the easiest grab and go healthy breakfast ever. After getting to spend the evening with these wonderful ladies, the next best thing was not having to cook breakfast this morning, even though I wasn't in any particular hurry to go anywhere. What have I learned here? In addition to being a great grab and go breakfast on a busy morning, they also make a great breakfast for a lazy summer morning as well. They are perfect little hand held breakfasts on any day. Or lunch, or afternoon snack. Did I mention they are also easy to make and healthy? And kid friendly. My seven year old likes the strawberry one, minus the chia seeds.

We made four different recipes last night. The Strawberry Vanilla and Blueberry Cinnamon can be found at this link. They both contain Greek yogurt, though if you are vegan or dairy intolerant you could probably use a dairy free yogurt. The two new flavors I am going to share with you are Banana Nut Bread and German Chocolate Cake. Both of these overnight oats are dairy free and vegan. The chocolate flavor is really subtle in the German Chocolate Cake overnight oats, so if you are like me and craving a stronger chocolate flavor, you can use a chocolate flavored nut milk and slightly increase the cocoa powder amount. Adding a good, high quality chocolate protein powder like Juice Plus Complete, would also be a great way to increase the chocolate flavor and the protein. Vanilla protein powder would be a yummy addition to the strawberry and blueberry oats. I think the banana oats would be tasty with either flavor. I have some experimenting to do!

German Chocolate Cake Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk 
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp pecans
• 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, give it a good stir and eat. It will keep in the refrigerator up to five days. 

Banana Nut Bread Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk, or other favorite nut milk
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp chopped nuts
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp nut butter
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, stir and eat. Top with banana slices right before eating for more banana flavor.

Overnight Oats - A Quick Healthy Breakfast

It has been a long, slow summer full of staying up later than we should and unrushed mornings sleeping in. Sometimes breakfast was more like brunch and since most mornings we didn't have to rush out the door, I had the time to cook our favorites, including banana pancakes, which I make often and just realized with surprise I have never shared with you. Wow, blogger fail. Anyway, we are back to work/school this week and I have been trying to figure out easy and fast breakfast recipes to help mornings run smoother. We are going to need all the help we can get until everybody is adjusted to our new routine. Nobody but the cat is a morning person in this house.

I've been seeing recipes for overnight oats all over Pinterest. This past week I decided to give them a try. The little man, to my delight, ate the oats all up two days in a row. I am also cooking up some freezer breakfasts, which I will share in another post, but the overnight oats will also be a great choice for our busy mornings. Just make up a batch the night before, grab out of the refrigerator in the morning, stir, and eat. Everyone gets their own grab and go jar. The flavor variations are nearly endless, too. We have enjoyed vanilla strawberry and blueberry cinnamon flavored overnight oatmeal so far. I think I will experiment with an apple walnut next. Little one loves apples. Oh, and with fall just around the corner, a pumpkin flavored one is a must.

Strawberry Vanilla Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1 tsp honey 
• handful of fresh strawberries, sliced

Mix ingredients in a quart mason jar or other lidded container. Store in refrigerator overnight. May eat cold, or if you prefer, heat in the microwave. Enjoy straight from the jar. 

Blueberry Cinnamon Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1-2 tsp honey
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• handfull of blueberries, approximately 1/4 cup ( I used frozen wild blueberries)

Mix ingredients together in a jar. Refrigerate overnight. Stir and eat straight from the jar. May be heated in a microwave if desired. 

I see so many possibilities for overnight oats. If you change the milk to a nut milk and the yogurt to a coconut or soy yogurt, and sweeten with agave or maple syrup, these would be a great vegan breakfast as well. I know some recipes call for steel cut oats, but you don't want to use instant or quick cook oats or they may be too runny. If you decide to experiment with flavors and ingredients, let me know what yummy combinations you come up with. I'd love to try them.