Day 5 of Reno-cation Week.
I’m weak.
I’m worn down.
Every muscle in my body hurts.
And I desperately need cookies to replenish my energy stores.
Unfortunately, the thought of mixing a bowl of batter makes my arms weep in protest. The one time I really need a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of almond milk, my body fails me. Anyone want to come cook/bake for me this week? :) I promise I won’t make you do too much painting… ;)
We’ve been living off of Vegan Overnight Oats, toast, and cereal for quick meals in a pinch. Oh, and I did manage to make a Green Monster yesterday, but even that seemed like a lot of effort! I know the logical solution to this problem would be ordering take-out all week long, but we live in the sticks and no one will deliver to us.
Luckily, these vegan overnight oats are always great when you don’t have the time (or energy) to turn on the stove. No matter how much putty will be glued to my hair by the day’s end, I know that this bowl of bliss will comfort me all day long…(or at least until lunchtime, when I drown myself into a carbohydrate coma with cereal).
[print_this]
Raspberry Carob Vegan Overnight Oats
Yield: 1 serving
Base Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup organic soy milk (or milk of choice)
- 1.5 tbsp carob powder
- Sweetener, if preferred
Topping ideas:
- Raspberries or other berries/fruit
- Nuts/Seeds
- Granola
- Nut butter
Directions: In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (oats, chia seeds, carob powder). Whisk in the milk until all clumps are gone. Place in the fridge overnight or for at least 30 minutes. Stir well before adding on the toppings. Serves 1.
[/print_this]
This bowl does the trick in a pinch, but I long for warm weather when I can start making these again!
It also packs quite the nutritional punch too.
For the base ingredients:
- 352 kcals
- 15 grams fat (2g sat fat, 6000mg Omega-3, 1819mg Omega-6) <—thank you chia seeds!
- 45 grams carbs
- 18 grams fibre
- 16 grams protein
- 7 grams sugar
I have been using 2 tbsp of chia seeds in my VOO lately because it really amps up the protein, healthy fats, fibre, iron, calcium, magnesium, and antioxidants. I also love carob powder because it is sweet enough that I feel like I don’t need to add any other sweetener (aside from the fruit, that is). For some info on carob powder, you can check out this post I wrote.
Reno-cation Update
We’ve been in the washing glue off walls–putty-patching-sanding cycle for almost 2 days now. HEEEEELP!
We both agree that the worst part is washing the wallpaper GLUE off the walls! It took us several hours yesterday. Just when we thought we got all the glue off, we would find more sticky spots.
We’re being very careful about getting all the glue off this time. In other rooms that we renovated, we missed some spots of glue and it caused a lot of grief because we had to go back and fix it once we started to paint.
Moral of the story: Wallpaper is EVIL! 
Thanks to the sanding, my hair is a lovely shade of white and I’ve got so much drywall compound on me, I think Eric is going to start sanding me down.
Sketchie on the other hand is still maintaining his beauty…!
More Blog Awards
- Someone let me know that they have nominated me for the Women’s Health: Blogs We Love 2011 Awards. Nominate your fav bloggers here!
- I’m in the running for Best Health Mag’s best ‘Eat Well’ Blog. You can vote here if you wish.
Thanks for your nominations and votes!
I’ll be back with an insanely creamy vegan version of Dal Makhni. Oh yes…it’s going to be a recipe to remember. I’ve already promised Eric I would make it tonight, so I guess I can’t back out now…
Yes, wallpaper is evil. So are those creative borders that people put up. Ugh! Terrible torture to remove.
Can’t wait to see how the room looks once you wash the walls down and paint. Will you be painting your now smooth ceiling?
Glad you are keeping your strength (and possibly your spirits) up with your overnight oats.
yes we are going to paint the ceiling the same colour as the trim (an ivory of sorts)
that looks incredible… oh yum!
but wait, im confused– how do you get 18 grams of fiber?? I can only figure out maybe 8…
The chia seeds (2 tbsp) account for about 11 grams of fibre. The rest comes from the oats (2.5 g), carob (3 g), and soy milk (~1gram or so).
those look amazing I have everything to make them too :)
Ohhh – this looks delicious. Plus, I agree – wall paper is eeeeeeevil.
I KNOW the renos will be SOOO worth it. AWWW…SKETCHIE!!!!
Do you think I could use flax seed instead of the chia? I really don’t know where to get chia seeds in the UK and don’t want to miss out on any of these scrummy recipes :-D
I’ve heard mixed results with VOO and using flax. I tried whole flax and it didn’t work, but Ive heard ground flax may work. You might have to reduce the liquid too.
Wow you are coming right along with the wallpaper work – I know from experience that it is really hard work! I’m excited to see the end result :)
Ha ha – yes, we stripped 6 layers of wallpaper (yup, 6 – they just kept adding them right on top!) before we discovered that that was what was holding together the old lathe and plaster. After we took the wallpaper off, the walls cracked and chipped so we had to rip it all down anyway – aaargh! Fun and games. Believe it or not, renos are an intense bonding experience. You and Eric will have many happy memories to share down the road :) Can’t wait for the dal recipe!
that picture of your oats is gorgeous!!!!
WOW
i give you so much credit for doing all your own renovations! that is super hard work!!!
Sketchie is such a good looking cat! :) he’s very photogenic!
I am in LOVE with raspberries at the moment!
Oh Angela…I feel your exhaustion in this post! Hang in there my friend…getting all that glue off WILL be worth it so you dont have to go back and re-do it.
And it’s times when we need nourishment and some TLC the most…that we have the least amount of energy to do it! I remember when I gave birth, and was nursing around the clock, no family to help me…and I was trying to cook for myself b/c I was so in need of food all the time and yet so beyond tired after giving birth!
I would gladly come cook dinner for you. If only you lived closer. Are you sure you dont want to come down to San Diego? I’d LOVE to take you out!!! :)
i’ll be on the next flight. :)
Oh…thats a great recipe and now on my list of must try’s. I wud luv to give it a shot soon… !
This brief piece, on “awesome oatmeal” made me think of you. It has an interesting point about the exact reason people eat certain foods/in certain ways, too.
http://www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2011/02/awesome-oatmeal/71678/
I just found your site and I love it! Thank you so much for inspiring me . I am so excited to try your recipes! Thanks again, you are amazing!
Whoa dal makhini is my favorite Indian dish. I really miss it. I can’t wait to read the recipe. I really hope i can get the ingredients for it (alot of ‘vegan’ ingredients on blogs i can’t get where i live). Looking forward to it!
I am in love with the colors in your first photo!
This look delicious! I am not a vegan, but I love overnight oats, so I’ll be making your pumpkin pie vegan overnight oats for breakfast tomorrow! I can’t wait!
Nominated and voted! *crossing fingers* although I highly doubt I’d need to cross anything because this blog is such a great success :)
Overnight oats have to be about the best thing ever! Seeing all of the renovating going on does not bode well for my house hunt. I have absolutely no desire to put that much work into making a room look decent. lol My husband loves that kind of stuff though, so I might not have a choice in the matter.
Yummy! That looks amazing.
I adore chia seeds. They have so many benefits. I remember when my mom got them for me she was saying how much cheaper it is to buy them rather than to buy Omega 3 tablet supplements.
I love your cat. That’s all.
Carob is one of my absolute favorite foods….I love adding it to banana softserve, yogurt, and baked goods! SO chocolatey and delicious…. I have yet to add it to overnight oats though, so I will have to try this recipe ASAP. Raspberries pair so well with chocolate so I am sure they would be fabulous with some sweet Carob!
I absolutely can not wait for the weather to warm up and I will crave VOO again.
hehe how funny! I had a feeling you were having voo today, and I did too! Sorry I just get easily amazed :P Sketchie!!!! ahhhhh I wanna pet him and squeeze him.
You are an inspiration! I look forward to reading your blog everyday!
You are an inspiration! I look forward to reading your blog everyday!
You guys are such troopers! Can’t wait to see the final product of your Reno-cation :)
I’m currently trying to find a different company producing chia seeds here in Australia, as the ones I have never seem to plump up unless I heat them. So, if I cook oatmeal with chia seeds and then leave it in the fridge, I get lovely plump thick oats, but if I stir them into cold liquid, they barely gel. It’s very upsetting!
Your breakfast looks so good! Good luck wth the renos it will be worth it in the end.