During my first year of grad school I was an overnight oats junky. Have you ever had them? Basically, you mix oats with liquid, yogurt, and whatever else your heart desires, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning you have breakfast. It is quite a step up from traditional warm oats, and so easy. I was constantly finding new variations, flavors, combos - it was wonderful. Over the last three years my overnight oats habit has faded. I realized dairy was messing with my digestion and making me super uncomfortable so I cut back on yogurt. Soon, my days of overnight oats were far behind me, replaced with egg bakes and other egg based breakfast. Don't get me wrong, I love my current breakfasts. Eggs are filling, provide a ton of nutrients including protein, healthy fats, Vitamin D, and choline, and go great with veggies, making it easier to get your five-a-day! That being said, we all need change once in a while.
Love my eggs, but sometimes I just want something different.
On Monday morning I was scheduled to speak at Fox45 morning news (did you see the clip???) and was in need of an on-the-go breakfast. Typically, I would make a smoothie, but I just didn't think my stomach would be able to handle it (they can be really filling!). I knew I wanted something I could easily take a few bites of in the car and then eat after the segment, but I was at a loss. Then I remembered my love of overnight oats. It was a done deal. I scoured the internet for a good recipe. Sadly I had trouble finding anything that was single serve and included oats and chia seeds (these help absorb the liquid and add protein and fat!). I decided to just go with it and hope for the best. I am sharing the recipe with you today.
sometimes you need to be able to eat on the go
I use siggi's (icelandic-style skyr) as my yogurt of choice here. I love it! It is less tart and less dense than Greek yogurt, but still maintains a creamy texture! Best of all, it is less bothersome on my stomach (particularly the full-fat varieties). Siggi's is my favorite brand because it can be found in most grocery stores (yay!), it has minimal ingredients, and a good amount of protein. Not to mention, they support dieitians! Head to their website to find out more about them (and find out what makes skyr different from Greek yogurts).
Greek yogurt or traditional yogurt can be used for this recipe, but please read the ingredients/nutrition facts label. I prefer vanilla yogurt in this recipe, but many Greek yogurt brands add tons of sugar, so you are likely better off sticking with the plain variety.
yogurt comparison
Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar in milk, therefore there will always be sugar on yogurt's nutrition facts label. Until the new food labels role out (they will list the amount of added sugar) you will need to focus on ingredient list and brand to brand comparison.
Chobani yogurt
- Whole milk plain: 4 g sugar
- Whole milk vanilla: 20 g sugar (evaporated cane juice)
siggi's yogurt
- Whole milk (4%) plain: 3 g sugar
- Whole milk (4%) vanilla: 8 g sugar (agave)
By comparing these brands you can reason that the Chobani vanilla likely has a lot more added sugar than the siggi's vanilla because it has more than double the grams of sugar.
their other flavors make a great snack too!
PS Chobani Greek Yogurt ingredient list includes guar gum and pectin. These are thickeners...so maybe that creamy goodness is coming from artificial means... This is something to keep in mind when you're considering the "natural" quality of a food product. This is the ingredient list for their "Whole milk" vanilla yogurt....interesting that whole milk is not in the ingredient list...
I am not trying to dis any brands by making these observations, I just want to point out that no matter what a packaging may claim you MUST, MUST, MUST read the ingredient list and look at the nutrition facts to get the whole story.
Okay, finally time for the recipe...
Five ingredient overnight oats
Ingredients
- 1/3 c Old-Fashioned Oats, gluten-free if preferred
- 1/3 c unsweetened almond milk, or other milk of choice
- 1/3 c vanilla siggi's 4% yogurt, or other whole milk yogurt of choice
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- splash vanilla
- optional: cinnamon, toppings of choice
Directions
1. Put all ingredients in a mason jar. For a larger portion feel free to use 1/2 c of each ingredient - just make sure you use equal parts of oats, liquid, and yogurt.
2. Mix. Secure the lid and put jar in the fridge overnight.
3. In the morning, top with your toppings of choice, grab a spoon, and go! You can top with fruit, nuts, shred coconut, or my preference, peanut butter and jelly!
PB&J - look how creamy and thick. MMMM
Look at that thick, creamy consistency. MMMMmmmmmm. Seriously, this was such a treat! So glad I rekindled this old love, there will be a lot of overnight oats in my future.
Try out this gluten-free, balanced, fiberful breakfast and let me know what you think!
[Note: I am not compensated by any company for writing this post. As a siggi's ambassador I have received coupons for siggi's products and free samples by request to provide during nutrition seminars. I promote this company to others because I believe in what they stand for and sell.]
