Overnight Oats - The Basics

This is probably my favourite recipe when it comes to making the best out of very stressful mornings. Overnight oats are one of those dishes that can be altered to suit anyone's taste and are impossible to fail. It literally is a matter of mixing oats and liquid and leaving it in a jar for several hours. For best results you leave it over night.

The fact that it's best to leave them over night is in fact their forte. You can prepare your breakfast before you go to bed and when you wake up you have the most delicious breakfast waiting for you in your fridge and all you need to to is eat it.

To me there are four crucial things to focus on when it comes to overnight oats: the right ratio of liquids and solids, flavours, layering and last but not least the topping.

The correct ratio of liquids and solids. 

I tried a lot of different ratios over the past year and found that these work the best. And when I talk ratios I mean volume, not weight.

•  Overnight oats with liquids like nut milks or juice.

            1 part liquid : 1 part oats

•  Overnight oats with liquids like yogurts, applesauce or compote.

           1.5 part liquid : 1 part oats

 You can change it to your preference but this seems to work the best for me, both for taste and texture.

 Added flavours.

When mixing your oats with a liquid of your choice you have the great opportunity to add some extra flavours. You can do this easily by adding anything you love to eat for breakfast. Cocoa, cinnamon, cardamom or vanilla are great additions when it comes to flavour. You can also add sweetness with agave, maple syrup or any other sweetener. You could also experiment by adding a spoonful of jam or simply by adding nuts or seeds or even coconut flakes. 

 Layering overnight oats.

When you are done with your basic oat mixture and you are a purist you might want to skip this step. If you however like your breakfasts colourful and packed with flavour you could try layering your oats. A simple way of doing it is using sliced banana. Add a part of your oat mixture to a jar, layer a few slices of banana on top of it. Add another portion of oats and sliced bananas until you used your mixture up.

Once you are comfortable enough handling this you can move on to other ingredients. Nuts, seeds or dried fruit like dates are great additions. Fruit in fact can be used in any form be it fresh, frozen, dried or cooked in forms of compote or jam. You can also make a layered breakfast with oats only by using two portions of oats that you flavoured differently.

 Choose a topping. 

A topping doesn't have to be purely for aesthetic reasons. You can use a topping as nutrition booster by adding things like chia seeds, goji berries, blueberries or any other food that you know is very good for you. On the other hand you could also very simply turn your overnight oats into something very indulging. So get out your cocoa nibs, chocolate or granola. Any why shouldn't you ... a breakfast fuels you up for the day and can take the edge off those grey mornings.

Overnight oats are not only a fantastic breakfast they also make a wonderful lunch or snack on the go.