Eating on the Run: Ramp up your Overnight Oats with Protein

By Katina Sayers

Overnight oatmeal is a favorite “go to” breakfast especially on busy weekday mornings. Multiple jars with dry ingredients can be prepared early in the week to use later and then final additions, such as milk, water, fruit, or yogurt, can be added the night before.

There are many forms of oats on the market – steel cut oats, rolled oats, and instant oats – but for best consistency, use rolled oats. Oats boast numerous nutrients such as fiber, carbohydrate, plant-based protein, and B-vitamins which make it a good choice for your gut and heart.

Easy Prep

Start with about one-third to one-half a cup of oats and add-in your favorite “boosts” such as peanut butter, cacao, spirulina, matcha, flax seed meal, or pumpkin puree’ (a seasonal delight!) and each jar can hold a different flavor profile. Milk, water, fruit, or yogurt, can be added the night before and will be ready to eat by the morning. Be careful of adding ingredients that are overloaded with sugar such as maple syrup, honey, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, or whipped cream.

Enjoy on the way to work or at your desk. Either way, this will be a good way to jumpstart your metabolism first thing in the morning. Time to ramp up your oats!

To ramp up your overnight oats, try adding these ingredients for a boost:

• Plant-based beverage

• Green Tea

• Mashed banana or banana slices

• Fresh berries or chopped apple

• Flax seed meal

• Greek yogurt

• Matcha tea

• Spirulina or chlorophyll

• Nut butter

• Vanilla bean

• Scoop of your favorite protein powder or collagen

• Chopped nuts

• Cinnamon

• Shredded coconut

• Chia seeds

• Chopped dates

• Shredded carrots