Overnight Oats Improved My Lifestyle

 I’m a firm believer in “Breakfast” and it being the most important meal of the day. You would never start your car on a family trip to the seaside on an empty tank, so why start the day to a hectic work family/lifestyle on an empty stomach? I’ve tried many breakfasts before rushing out the door and probably with a bowl twice the recommended serving size and nothing particularly healthy. As I got older, the cereal stopped and was replaced by fuel that helped me get through the day, well at least until lunchtime.

THE COMMITMENT TO BREAKFAST

In recent years, I’ve made more of an effort to eat breakfast. Instant oats became a go-to, and I would occasionally make eggs or avocado toast, pancakes and Greek yoghurt. I then read an article, it sounded a clever idea so feeling mildly ambitious. To try overnight oats, I decided to give them a whirl.

Overnight oats are exactly what they sound like, provided you think they sound like oats you make overnight. The exact recipe can be customized to your taste, but the two basic ingredients are the same as always — oats and liquid. Instead of relying on hot water or heated milk, you keep things cold, allowing the oats to form overnight in the fridge.

If you want to spruce things up from there — and, trust me, you do — you can add other ingredients like Greek yogurt, flax seeds, cocoa nibs, a little honey (and I mean little) and other oat-friendly items. Berries are a smart addition that can be added in the morning before eating to freshen things up. Depending on how you make your overnight oats, the end result can be delicious, nutritious and filling — exactly what you need to start your day.

THE GREAT OAT EXPERIMENT

I resolved to make overnight oats for five straight days. I kept it up, regularly experimenting with ingredients and wound up exceeding those five days … by about 25 days. Yes, I ate overnight oats every day for a month. Not only did they provide me with much-needed morning fuel, I could ride/run to work, perform in a busy office and not feel the mid-morning crash and helps me maintain a good weight for my sporting activates — and I haven’t gotten off since.

Breakfast is often touted as the most important meal of the day. Whether that’s true is some people will argue it’s debatable, I am a firm believer, for me, skipping breakfast meant I would often make poor lunchtime decisions. Because, come midday, I was starving. And when you’re starving, it’s common to overeat, or to grab the first thing in front of you, even if it’s unhealthy.

THE VERDICT

Now, whether it’s overnight oats or egg-topped avocado toast, breakfast is an everyday occurrence. And that means I can opt for a lighter midday meal. Throw in a healthy dinner, and I’ve accomplished something: an entire day of good food choices. That was a lot more difficult when breakfast wasn’t on the table.

So, thanks, overnight oats; you’ve treated me right. I will continue to eat you 3–4 times per week. And when I don’t, I will eat something else. Because I’m a breakfast person now.

If you want to make your own overnight oats, recipes abound. But I’m partial to the below.

Overnight Oats Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup whole rolled oats
1/3 cup milk (or milk alternative of your choice)
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 banana, finely diced (Or cup of Blueberries)
1 teaspoon Flax seeds
Cinnamon to taste
Fresh blueberries

Directions:

Add all into an airtight container, cover, refrigerate overnight; in the morning, you have saved precious time by preparing your breakfast so all that is left to open and enjoy.