Hey Emma!
I know you’re in a big hurry in the morning. I am too. In fact, the entire family is usually rushing out the door to catch the bus or get to work on time. When I started grad school my diet seriously suffered. There just wasn’t enough time to focus on eating healthy. It was so much easier to grab whatever was closest and rush out the door. Most mornings I wouldn’t have time to eat breakfast at all which lead to a crash by around 11 a.m., followed by insane afternoon cravings that usually would turn into binge eating fiascos.
About four months ago, I decided to clean up my eating habits including making a concerted effort to eat breakfast every morning. Since I rarely have time to prep breakfast in the morning I decided to try a few popular recipes for overnight oats.
Overnight oats have become one of my favorite standbys. They are incredibly easy to prepare. They take about as much time as a package of instant oatmeal in the microwave to prep but they offer healthy whole grains, two to three times the amount of protein and if you make them with steel cut oats will keep you full from breakfast all the way through lunch without leading to fierce afternoon cravings. Just toss the ingredients together in the evening and you’ll have breakfast the next day. They will also keep in the refrigerator for at least a week! I’ll make enough for three breakfasts and then rotate them with a breakfast frittata (coming soon) which I divide into four portions and I have breakfasts prepared in less than 20 minutes for a week!
So here’s the thing about these oats: they’re made with chocolate and peanut butter, so when they are done taste almost exactly like a chocolate no-bake cookie! Seriously, it’s the best breakfast you’ll have all week! But here’s the thing, even though that may sound like these oats are healthy only in name, they are actually good for you and have a minimal amount of sugar. So how do you make breakfast taste like a cookie without digging deep into the sugar bowl?
They are flavored with PB2 chocolate peanut butter powder and given a creamy protien punch with a little greek yogurt. If you haven’t tried PB fit or it’s chocolate counterpart I recommend you drive to the grocer and buy some now. I mean it. Go now. Or order it here or here.
Then come home and tuck into a bowl of chocolate breakfast!
XOXO – Kristi
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup steel cut oats
- 4 tbls Pb2 chocolate peanut butter powder
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt, vanilla or plain
- 1 cup plain or chocolate almond, soy or dairy milk
- Cocoa powder (I prefer dutch processed)
- Any mix ins of your choosing such as fresh raspberries, tart dried cherries, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, dried coconut etc.
- Divide the ingredients into two 2 cup containers. Add the rolled oats (1/4 cup), steel cut oats (1/4 cup), PB2 (2 Tbls.), mix until well combined. Divide the yogurt (1/4 cup) and milk (1/2 cup) and stir. Add any mix-ins and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Cover with a lid and refrigerate until liquid is absorbed or overnight.
- Serve cold or warm for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Add any additional milk, honey or maple syrup if desired.
- I like steel cut oats and plain greek oatmeal in this recipe but if you want something a little less "healthy tasting" substitute rolled oats for the entire recipe and vanilla yogurt.
- To boost your protein but keep the flavor, add your favorite chocolate protein powder and stir in a tablespoon of prepared peanut butter instead.
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