Happy Friday!
Wheeeeeeee. Man, the weeks are flying by…I just hope the summer doesn’t fly by too. :ermm: I hate when that happens, don’t you?
I whipped up a delicious batch of Vegan Overnight Oats last night before hitting the hay…
Before going into the fridge last night…
I chopped a large banana and let it marinate overnight in the mix. Mmmm.
In this batch went:
- 1/2 cup organic oats
- 1.25 cups Almond Milk
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- Very tiny pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Protein Powder
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large banana, chopped or mashed
Directions: Mix dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients (milk, vanilla) and WHISK! Add chopped banana and stir. Place into fridge overnight.
It is very liquidy when you place it into the fridge, but when it comes out in the morning it is thick, thick, thick. Give it a good stir and then add your toppings!
The key topping this morning was maple peanut butter. I mixed 1 tbsp of peanut butter with 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup.
I also sprinkled some coconut on top.
Before & After comparison…from PM to AM…
You can see that the volume from the PM to AM actually appeared to decrease as the oats and chia seeds expand and soak up the almond milk. This makes it very thick!
Do Vegan Overnight Oats have to sit in the fridge all night long before they are ready (aka 8 hours)?
I have had a few readers email me and let me know that the Vegan overnight oats can be ready in as little as 30-60 minutes in the fridge! Good news if you are desperate for them in the AM or want to make them for an afternoon snack. They won’t be as thick, but they will be close enough.
Women & Breakfast
I recently came across an article in a UK newspaper called The Independent. Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan was being interviewed on her book called Tired But Wired. One of the things that Dr. Ramlakhan claims is that it is crucial to eat first thing in the morning if you want a better sleep at night.
The evolutionary-based theory is that ‘eating breakfast first thing in the morning calms and reassures the part of your brain that still thinks you’re a cave person, living day to day on slow-running game and avoiding predators.’ Dr. Ramlakhan calls this crucial period in the morning a ‘metabolic window’. This window is a timeframe in which you can give your body an important message telling it “there is an adequate supply of food, it can relax, and that it can fall into sleep mode when it needs to."
When I suffered from an eating disorder, I used to either skip breakfast or not eat for an hour or two after waking and when I did eat, it was often just 1 apple. When I was commuting into Toronto for work, I would workout, get ready for work, and then eat my breakfast running out the door (I do not recommend this!). My energy levels were always very low and I was unhappy and irritable, not surprisingly. However, when I decided to recover, one of the things I did was learn to enjoy breakfast again, just like I did as a kid. I think most of us start off as children who have a huge love for breakfast. I have lots of good memories of breakfast as a child…I would often help my parents make pancakes or eggs and toast on the weekends, or I would eat a huge bowl of my favourite cereal during the week. As a child, breakfast was a positive way to start each day.
When I started to eat breakfast again, I realized that fueling up first thing in the morning gave me so much more energy and started my day off on the right foot. Now that I have gotten into the habit of eating when I wake up, I find that I wake-up very hungry in the morning and my body seems to be in a better schedule. For so long, I consumed most of my calories after 3pm, but I feel like now I eat a large portion of my calories in the morning and at lunch and less in the evening hours. I feel better this way, even though at first I was absolutely terrified of eating a large breakfast.
As for improving my sleep, I am not sure on that one, but it sort of makes sense to me that if you don’t deprive your body, you will be a more balanced person overall.
What does breakfast look like for you- do you fuel up or skip out? How soon do you eat breakfast after waking up? Have you ever changed the way you approached your breakfast, such as by eating more or different foods?
See you for 1,000 words this afternoon- I need your help with this one! Have a great day :biggrin:
I eat within 30-60 minutes of waking. I have to, I’m hungry! I have always eaten in the mornings. I have always been hungry, I mean come on I’ve been “fasting” for 8+ hours! I seriously, seriously, can’t understand how someone can just not eat!
I did used to “skip breakfast” in a sense, in college. I used to wake up really late (between 10 and 11 am) and my first meal would be “lunch.” The first meal I’d eat was pizza, or a sandwich or something. But technically it was breakfast since it was my first meal of the day.
I do things differently now for sure though. I have started eating a more substantial breakfast in the mornings. I switched from eating only a VitaTop every morning for breakfast, to having a nice big bowl of oatmeal. To me, they are just as filling, but I think my body prefers the real food in the morning to fuel my workouts better.
I have eaten breakfast every single day for at least the last 8 years. I’m sure I skipped in in high school once or twice, but I can’t imagine skipping it now. I eat it within the first hour I’m awake, and then I let it settle for awhile. I have actually made your overnight oats the past 3 nights, so that’s been a nice change of pace! Before that, I did a pice of whole grain toast w/peanut or almond butter and a sliced banana or apple. I also loved some kind of vegan or greek yogurt topped w/granola, nuts, fruit, etc.
Also, do you have any suggestions for chia seed substitutes? I cannot seem to find them at the moment, so I’ve been used flax seeds. Are there any other foods that would do the trick? Thanks!
Ive heard flax seeds work…I can’t think of anything else that really thickens except corn starch (a main ingredients in vegan pudding!), but I dont think that would taste good…
I LOVE breakfast! Before I heard about the Green Monster (thanks again! :) ha) I would have oatmeal with blueberries & bananas with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Or I would have an english muffin with peanut butter and cut up bananas. I tried the vegan overnight oats yesterday but mine turned out weird. I didn’t have chai seeds so maybe that was why? Sometimes I eat my oatmeal or english muffin meals for dinner because I love breakfast THAT much.
I definitely fuel up! I love breakfast, and cannot skip it or I am moody and grouchy. I don’t like to eat first thing after I wake up, but it’s’ usually within an hour of waking.
I think I am in the minority here….I love to just savor green tea in the mornings and my appetite does not get going until around 10:30am. I have never liked eating first thing in the morning after waking up. I do drink a lot of water tho first thing. Your body really needs the hydration right away. Fruit/green smoothies are my breakfast of choice!
I always used to skip breakfast – I was never hungry in the morning. Once I made the decision to change my life for the better, I made a list of things I would start doing EVERY day. Breakfast was on the list! So now, I have oatmeal every morning. If it’s hot oatmeal, I mix in ground flax and sometimes chia seeds after it’s cooked.
Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of overnight oats. It makes it easier getting out of bed, knowing you have something healthy and yummy waiting for you in the fridge! Now, I can’t even imagine skipping breakfast.
I also used to hate bananas (after my son was born for some reason I just lost my taste for them) Now, I layer them into my overnight oats, and usually have half a banana before I run.
I very recently started eating breakfast when I first wake up. Since I’ve been commuting to work in Toronto (5 years now) I’ve always eaten at my desk. So, I’m up before 7, and not eating until after 9, sometimes later. I knew skipping breakfast was known to cause overeating later in the day, but I still thought this “counted” as breakfast, even though it was over 2 hours after I had been awake. And desk breakfasts suck! It would either be a muffin (low fat of course… haha) or a packet of instant oats… which never filled me. So now that I’m getting up a little earlier and actually taking the time to prepare REAL oatmeal, or pancakes, or whatever, breakfast is so much more enjoyable. It actually motivates me to get out of bed in the morning… no more snooze button for me!
I can’t imagine NOT eating breakfast. Not only am I starving when I wake up, but breakfast is my favourite meal of the day!
But back in my teen years I didn’t have such a regular eating/sleeping schedule, so I wasn’t always hungry for breakfast.
I used to wake up, eat nothing, do a super intense work out and then sit down to one cup of cereal with 1/2 cup of milk. Not surprisingly I would be starving all day! And often have to eat a lot at night to catch up on my intake. Now I eat 1/2 a Cliff bar, work out and then make a 450-500 cal breakfast each morning. I feel MUCH more balanced throughout the day!
I always eat breakfast, and have always! I went from a cold cereal kid in high school to an oatmeal fenatic and now my kick is GM’s (thank you Angela!). I will always eat breakfast no matter what time of the day I wake up,I can’t start my day with out a breakfast food.
Work days I eat breakfast 15-30 minutes after waking up, showering and doing my hair, weekends, immidiately.
I’m basically evil if I don’t eat breakfast! I have a 3 mile cycle to work on week days so I try to have a fairly massive breakfast (with BSSVOO or cereal and a big banana/date/soyamilk/nuts smoothie) – even them I’m still starving by 11am!
Also, why do your oats go so thick? I use more oats than you and less milk but they still never seem to soak it up?! *sigh*
It’s because of the chia seeds! Chia “grow” in milk, giving a pudding like texture.
Chia seeds are great for thickening…otherwise if you are using chia, I might guess maybe it is your type of oats or the brand. I tested a lot of brands of oats for my glo bars and bob’s red mill organic regular had the best consistency at least for my bars. I tried other brands and they were very ‘flakey’ and not the same.
95% of the time I eat cold cereal in the morning and most of the time, it is the same brand (organic multigrains cereals from Costco). I can’t wait to EAT when I wake up. Per instance when I eat out for breakfast I always do eat a “pre-breakfast” at home first. When I was in high school I use to think that by skipping breaskfast I’ll loose weight… wow I do not even understand now how I could have believe that and how I was able to go all through the morning without FUEL in my body!! There is one thing though… when I exercice in the morning, I do eat a banana or a big glass of juice and eat right after like a mad woman! lol A do not agree or believe in the whole process of volontary fasting, even for religious reasons, it is just so wrong for the body.
I eat pretty much as soon as I get up – I’m usually pretty hungry! I used to avoid breakfast, thinking it would make me gain weight… Now I know that eating breakfast can actually help with weight control. Oh, and then there’s the whole eating when you’re hungry thing. Took me a while to get that one down!
When I was a kid, we never had breakfast during the week. Every so often we would get a box of lucky charms but it would be months before another simply because we were in a “hurry.” My dad would cook a big southern-style breakfast on Saturday and that would be the only morning time meal in the week. It has only been the last few months that I have eaten breakfast and I look forward to it every morning, I believe it helps me get out of bed. :)
I always eat a big breakfast, but sometime I do wait an hour or so. By the time I get the kids ready and off to school, I am more than ready. By waiting I can really sit down and enjoy me food instead of eating it between packing backpacks and brushing hair.
I always eat breakfast. I’ll be a ravenous mess if I don’t!
I can’t go without eating breakfast…it’s my fave meal of the day!!! :-D
I think my overnight oats are missing the banana…I need to add that back in! I don’t know why I didn’t do it before, since I ALWAYS add them to my hot oats!
The banner at the top of your site is really nice. I used to visit, but I haven’t in a long time. I just posted a vegan recipe if you’re interested! :)
i thought of you today on my run :) it was inspiring to hear you talk about only being able to run for a min or two in the beginning yesterday. it really is about surprising yourself by just keep pushing yourself.
Mmmmm, breakfast. I eat breakfast every single day about an hour after I wake up, or I think I’d be a cranky mess. On weekdays it has to be fast so it’s usually oat bran, grits, cereal, a smoothie or an english muffin with pb, but I’ve been thinking lately that I’d like to incorporate more protein and veggies into breakfast so that past few mornings I’ve had an ezekiel wrap with fat-free refried beans, sauteed onions, peppers and mushrooms, and salsa, with honeydew melon on the side. I thought this combo would keep me full for longer, but it hasn’t – In fact, it’s probably less calories than I usually have, so that might explain it. I almost always have fruit with breakfast, or as a morning snack, so I can be sure I’m getting my fruit in each day. I loooove brunchy foods like pancakes, french toast, tofu scrambles and potatoes, but rarely find time to make them.