Breakfast: Overnight Oats
This week, we're having overnight oats for breakfast. I love this recipe because it means our mornings are super easy! And the meal prepping for this dish takes at most five minutes - it really is that simple. We tend to make up batches to last us between two and three days since our fridge can't really accommodate larger containers. I find the texture stays pretty consistent but if you find its getting a little too thick, it usually helps to add a bit more of your milk of choice. We use almond milk because we like the convenience of its long shelf life but you could definitely substitute another dairy or dairy-alternative option if you prefer!
Now, overnight oats are nothing new in the world of meal prep - they've been a pretty solid fan favorite among most of my friends for ages. We started to get into them as a way to increase our protein consumption in the morning (hello, Greek yogurt) while still having a simple no-cook breakfast option.
Our overnight oats veered slightly away from the norm when we made the recent addition of spinach. This came about through a desire to get more leafy greens into our overall diet. After watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix over a year ago, Matt and I have been much more conscious about trying to eat the rainbow and get plenty of greens into every meal. We found that this was easy to do with our veggie egg cups (recipe coming next week!) but we noticed our oats were a little lacking in the greens department...
Enter frozen spinach! We had been adding frozen spinach to dishes like chili or curry and noticed that it added nutrients without a major impact on taste. Essentially, we've become the type of adults who hide vegetables and greens in every dish... except that instead of being parents who are trying to trick kids into eating healthily... we're pretty much hiding them from ourselves. So we thought: why not give adding the spinach to our oats a try? A quick google informed us that we weren't the first to come to this conclusion, which proved it probably wouldn't kill us.
By blending the spinach with bananas and almond milk, you really don't even notice that it is there. Well, except for the brilliant green color! As far as taste: the oats still have a nice sweetness from the banana and honey. Depending on how much spinach you add, you might start to taste a sort of background "green" vibe but it still isn't overwhelming. You could also substitute fresh spinach if that's what you have on hand.
This week we're serving our overnight oats with thawed frozen berries since they were on sale at Tesco. We tend to always have frozen fruit on hand since it can be so useful in a pinch and is usually a bit more affordable than fresh fruit. However, these oats are completely customizable! Feel free to add whatever takes your fancy. A quick google will show that you can pretty much make these as elaborate as you want with flavor combinations such as carrot cake or pumpkin spice. One of our favorite versions includes apples and raisins, which gives an apple pie type flavor. Delish!
We really hope you'll give these oats a try! The recipe below is for four servings which we can usually stretch to 6 servings depending on how many additional toppings we're planning to have. I think this has been such a great way to add a bit more nutrients into our day and at 292 calories (if stretching to 6 servings), it's not too heavy a hit in the morning. We find it keeps us full until lunch so also helps to stave off any mid-morning snacking!
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: Overnight
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
2 cups porridge oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 cups almond milk
2 bananas
4 frozen spinach cubes
350g Greek yogurt
1-2 tbsp honey
Method:
In a large container (we use a glass 1.8 liter tupperware from Ikea), mix the porridge oats, chia seeds and flax seeds together. Next, using a blender, blend the almond milk and bananas until smooth.
Once the bananas and almond milk are ready, add in three to four cubes of frozen spinach and blend again until the spinach has been completely mixed in. You should be left with a smooth liquid.
Add this liquid into the oat mixture along with the Greek yogurt and honey. Stir until fully combined and then put into the fridge to set.
Leave overnight and then top with your preferred add ons like fruit, nuts, honey, etc.
