Healthy Overnight Breakfast: Overnight Oats

Have you heard of Overnight Oats ? An alternative preparation of oatmeal. Prepared in the evening, you can simply add fresh toppings in the morning and enjoy your oat breakfast in peace.

Learn more about Overnight Oats, how healthy they are, what benefits they have, and get inspired by our tasty ideas.

What exactly are overnight oats?

If you're interested in healthy eating, you can't miss oats. Overnight oats are basically nothing more than cold oatmeal. In terms of taste, these are very similar to warm porridge. They are a great and healthy breakfast . The only difference is that the oats are eaten cold.

Overnight oats consist of oatmeal infused with cold milk, a milk alternative, or water. Soaked oatmeal is high in fiber, full of minerals and vitamins, and contributes to a healthy diet.

How are overnight oats prepared?

Preparing overnight oats couldn't be easier. The flakes are stirred with the liquid and placed in the refrigerator overnight. The liquid causes the oatmeal to swell at night, creating a creamy porridge.

The ratio of oats to liquid should be approximately 1:2. 50 grams of flakes are therefore followed by 100 milliliters of liquid. But it's entirely up to you how you prefer the consistency of your overnight oats. The next morning, you can refine the porridge with fruit, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, coconut flakes, or nutmeg. Your taste will decide how you want to style your oats.

Closed containers are especially suitable if you want to take the oatmeal straight to work. A healthy breakfast at work increases your concentration.

The whole thing can also be prepared gluten-free with gluten-free flakes. Milk alternatives create a vegan variant that is also rich in protein and essential fatty acids with many nuts.

Why are overnight oats so healthy?

Overnight oats, oats, and porridge are also known as power breakfasts. This is due to the numerous calories that breakfast entails.

One serving contains a whopping 400 to 600 calories. The number of calories depends on which toppings and which fruit you use. However, you should not focus on the number of carbohydrates or calories.

Oats have many healthy benefits. Oatmeal is high in fiber and therefore saturates for a particularly long time. This prevents you from having to reach into the snack box before lunch.

We show you all the advantages of overnight oats at a glance:

In addition, oatmeal is full of unsaturated fatty acids. If you serve it with berries and almond sauce, for example, you will also get plenty of antioxidants and other minerals.

Have you heard? Overnight oats against cellulite!

Most women suffer from cellulite – this is something quite normal. This cannot and does not have to be completely eliminated. But with exercise and a healthy diet, you can positively influence cellulite if you want to.

Oatmeal is full of valuable protein and fiber. Both are essential for building muscle. The muscles, in turn, strengthen the connective tissue.

Of course, you can support the effect by exercising regularly. The unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants also have a positive effect on your skin.

Proven toppings to go with overnight oats

As already mentioned, the oatmeal thrives on extravagant toppings. We'll show you how to make your overnight oats your favorite breakfast, piece by piece.

Oatmeal as a base

The healthy overnight oats are of course based on flakes. You come first as an ingredient. The oatmeal is first placed in a (sealable) glass or bowl. A distinction is made between granular and fine flakes.

If you want a little more bite, you should opt for the coarse flakes. The delicate flakes create a creamier porridge. The ideal amount is between 40 and 60 grams, depending on your hunger.

You don't like oats? You can also use a different type of grain. How about spelt flakes, buckwheat flakes, millet flakes, or even chia seeds ?

The options are wide. High-protein quinoa is also a great alternative.

Fibre with various seeds

If you want to consume as much fiber as possible, you should supplement the oatmeal with flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, or psyllium seeds.

Fiber stimulates your digestion. They also contain many nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, iron, and vegetable protein. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3, are also included.

If you have problems with the gastrointestinal tract or suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, you should mix some psyllium with the oatmeal.

It doesn't always have to be cow's milk

You need about 120 milliliters of milk for your oats. If you prefer it more liquid, you can, of course, also add more milk. You can use milk or plant-based alternatives such as oat drink, almond milk, or soy milk.

The choice of milk alternatives is wide. If you like it a little sweeter, you can use oat or rice milk. Do you prefer a nutty taste? Then almond or hazelnut milk is just the thing for you. There is no need for cow's milk under any circumstances.

Of course, you can also just use water or a tasty juice.

Toppings for the extra crunch

Since the oatmeal is very soft, you can add a crispy component. Cocoa nibs, coconut chips, nuts, seeds, pumpkin seeds, or granola are all available.

You can also make the granola yourself: just mix oatmeal with kernels. Then mix with coconut oil or sunflower oil, honey or another sweetness. Now add the spices of your choice and bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes in the oven.

If you're less experimental in the kitchen, check out Verival's Crunchies. All varieties are baked gently without palm oil – the selection is huge.

Vitamins with lots of fruit

Of course, fresh fruit is not to be missed. Whether apples, bananas, or the sugar-reduced variant with berries, fresh fruit is full of vitamins. However, for the sake of the environment, you should make sure to use seasonal fruit.

Of course, you can also use frozen fruit. You can simply cut and add the fruit or make some kind of mush. Simply puree the fruit for this.

If you prefer a particularly filling breakfast, you should go for bananas. On the other hand, berries or citrus fruits are suitable for the light variant.