Easy & Delicious Overnight Oats

Breakfast and I are frenemies.

I love the idea of starting the day off with a beautiful meal that energizes me and keeps me going until lunchtime. On days when I don't eat breakfast, I'm dragging through the morning at work and usually overeat the rest of the day.

However, I don't like the idea of getting up earlier to cook or eating so early that I'm starving by 10:00 a.m.

The best breakfasts for me are ones that I can prep ahead of time, require little or no effort in the morning and are portable so that I can eat them at my desk on my own schedule.

For about a year-and-a-half, I was keeping Special K cereal and soy milk at work and eating a tiny bowl each morning; in the last few months, I was trying to make powder/almond milk meal replacement drinks. But what I've realized is that if my morning meal isn't something worthwhile, or homemade instead of out of a box or a can, I make it less of a priority and am more likely to not make time to eat, much less enjoy it.

So I've been thrilled by the breakfasts we started making with our clean eating detox. These meals were homemade but not difficult or time consuming. The dishes that required a.m. cooking were still quick, like omelets or fried egg hashes, but more times than not they were prepped and/or cooked ahead of time for great grab-and-go breakfasts. One of my favorites was the strawberry overnight oats and I've started experimenting with the recipe to include other flavor profiles and textures.

This week, I stumbled across a great recipe for cinnamon overnight oats with bananas, peanut butter, pecans and maple syrup - and it was stellar!

Overnight oats are made the night before (at least 8 hours) with a variety of oats and/or seeds with some liquid or dairy products - milk (dairy, almond or soy) or yogurt (we've only tried Greek) - and some seasonings and occasionally, mix ins like fruit or nuts. It looks like a watery mess when you make it, but the liquid is absorbed so fully and the oats plump up beautifully and the seeds soften, too. In the morning, your jar is filled with something that actually looks like traditional oatmeal, not the goop you left there last night.

You can eat the oats straight from the fridge, like a parfait, or you can microwave it for 30+ seconds to get it warm. I'll admit it feels very strange to eat oatmeal that isn't piping hot and warming you all the way through, but it's actually delicious, especially in the summer when it's hot all day and every day. This recipe was a great blend of both - the oats stay cold, but you heat up the toppings and swirl them into the oatmeal. And that requires hardly any effort - I packed all the components in separate containers and only had to stir them together when I got to work.

When I looked at the recipe I worried that it could be sickeningly sweet - with bananas, peanut butter AND maple syrup? I just knew I'd be choking down the diabetes-in-a-jar. However, the way you mix the ingredients, the oats are actually very simply flavored. They aren't sweet at all and the dominant flavor is the spiciness of the cinnamon. The toppings - which are portioned perfectly - add just the right amount of sweetness and nuttiness and a great mixture of textures (and temperatures). Swirling everything together makes for perfect bites with crunch, the mouthfeel of oats, creamy bananas and peanut butter and a sticky, silky maple syrup.

And one of the best, and most surprising, things about this breakfast is just how filling it is. The portion is almost too much, and having double proteins the fullness lasts for hours.

If you're looking for a way to simplify your mornings and improve your first meal of the day, give this a try; I'm confident you won't be disappointed.

Cinnamon Overnight Oats with Bananas, Peanut Butter, Pecans and Maple Syrup

Adapted from Radiant Rachels

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/4 c oats
1 T chia seeds
1/2 t cinnamon
3/4 c almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
a splash of vanilla extract
1/2 ripe banana, sliced
1 T natural peanut butter
1 t maple syrup
2 T pecans, toasted

Method:

In a small bowl, combine oats, seeds, cinnamon, milk and vanilla. Stir until cinnamon is mixed in well.

Pour into a pint-sized mason jar or other airtight container and refrigerate overnight (for at least 8 hours).

Before serving, microwave banana slices and peanut butter in small microwave safe container for 30 seconds, or until p.butter is warm and almost runny. Pour over oats. Top with pecans and drizzle maple syrup over top.