I post overnight oats in my Instagram story all the time, and I always get requests for the recipe, so I’m finally getting around to sharing it with the world! 😀 or maybe just some people that really wanna try overnight oats.  These are fast, easy, and chocolaty – which I love so very much. Cause really, what’s better than feeling like you’re eating dessert for breakfast? Pretty much nothing. Besides maybe knowing that you’re eating something good for you while doing it. Since it’s such a nutritious choice for your morning, it also happens to be my favorite post workout breakfast. If you add some protein, it’s a great post workout combo of healthy carbs and protein to help recovery and you know.. fitness gains gains gains! 😀
Before we get into the recipe, let’s take a look at the benefits of overnight oats and why they’re different than just heating them up in the morning. Cause as crazy as it is, just soaking them overnight makes a huge difference in the nutritional benefits and digestibility!
They’re easier to digest – Soaking the oats overnight doesn’t just make your morning quicker and easier, it breaks down the phytic acid (found in plants) and the starches. This makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients.
They have resistant starch – Since the oats are raw, they contain more resistant starch. It’s called this because it’s resistant to digestion. Some of the benefits are a decreased blood sugar spike and feeding the good bacteria in your colon. Resistance starch also helps to keep you full!
When you cook the oats in the morning the resistant starch gets broken down (heat and resistant starch aren’t friends) and the phytic acid is not broken down so the benefits and nutrients from the oats aren’t as readily available for your body.
You can heat up overnight oats in the morning but the heat will still break down a good bit of the resistant starch. So, give them a try cold! I’m actually a fan of cold overnight oats, they don’t have that same glue-y texture as hot ones.
Another awesome thing about overnight oats is the variety. You can pretty much make as many different variation and flavors as your imagination will allow you to come up with. Even better, you don’t have to come up with recipes on your own because there are about a million ideas for them on Pinterest! These range from crazy chi spiced cinnamon latte flavor to basic (and much more manageable things like these chocolate ones).
So, if you’re looking for a way to simplify your morning or just to get a little bit more out of your breakfast, overnight oats might be for you!
But enough of my babbling, here’s the recipe for my favorite overnight oats! I hope you enjoy them too 😀
Chocolate Lovers Overnight Oats Ingredients
Some of the ingredients here are going to vary. The amount of milk is going to be a personal preference and so is how ‘chocolaty’ you want them. So, I’ve put down some measurements that work well but definitely play around to get the perfect taste for you! The amount of oats is pretty much the only constant!
Almond Milk (Coconut milk, cashew milk or whatever your preference is can also be used)
½ Cup Rolled Oats (definitely not steel cut!)
1-2 Tbsp Cacao Powder (cocoa can also be used but won’t have the magnesium etc)
1-1.5Â Tbsp Date Paste (or raw honey)
Optional:
1 Tbsp Ground Flax
1 Scoop (about 2 Tbsp) Protein Powder (preferable unflavored – if you use a chocolate one you probably don’t need cacao or possibly date paste if it’s sweetened)
*If you are using protein powder and it’s flavored something besides vanilla or sweetened already then you may not want to add date paste or cacao.
Chocolate Lovers Overnight Oats Instructions
Grab a bowl, tall cup or a mason jar (I love to use my purple mason jars). Just needs to be something a spoon can be used with!
Add ½ cup oats to jar.
Add Cacao powder, ground flax and protein.
Add almond milk or alternative and mix well so there are not dry clumps. You want to add enough milk to cover the whole mixture. I definitely recommend going slow with the milk and adding more if you need it. You want it to seem a little ‘watery’ because they liquid gets absorbed overnight. Less milk will result in more sticky and thick overnight oats and more will leave it more ‘liquidy’ (to be scientific here) and less congealed. That’s really just going to be a personal preference!
Add date paste or alternative and mix it/ spread it throughout the mixture.
Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning!
What’s your favorite overnight oat add in or flavor? Let me know if you experiment! I always love see hear other tasty options!
Sweat, Smile, Repeat! And Eat! 😀
xxNiki
