Overnight High Protein Oatmeal

 

I feel like the only meals I make now that I have a baby are the ones I can make in bulk or in advance (both if I’m lucky). Overnight oats are a super easy breakfast for anyone who loves oatmeal like I do. I love that I can put together my breakfast the night before, and eat it while the baby plays under her activity mat. This recipe would also be great for mornings when you are on the go. You can easily grab and eat them before work, or take them and eat breakfast at your desk. Overnight oats will keep for several days in the fridge, so sometimes I’ll make a couple days worth at once!

 

There are tons of overnight oatmeal recipes out there, and the only thing I tweaked from this basic overnight oats recipe was increasing the protein content. Instead of using a milk or water as the liquid, I used liquid pasteurized egg whites. I’ve really been on a pasteurized egg white kick lately; they are a great flavorless way to increase the protein content of my smoothies, and now my oatmeal. I even found a cage-free egg whites brand! The egg whites combined with plain Greek yogurt bump up the protein content from a meager 3 grams to 20! And like all oatmeal recipes, there are a ton of flavor combos, so you never will get bored.

 

This has been my go-to summer breakfast before or after a run. I’m training for an extended sprint triathlon (great way to lose baby weight), and I’ve eaten this 30 minutes before a run in the heat with zero stomach issues. Plus, cold oatmeal in the summer is super satisfying. I was a little skeptical of eating it cold, but it’s delicious!

 

 

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{Overnight High Protein Oatmeal}

Bump up the protein of your basic oatmeal with liquid pasteurized egg whites and plain Greek yogurt. Fresh or frozen fruit works great!

 

Lightly adapted from: Kath Eats Real Food–Overnight Oats

 

Servings: 1

 

Base Ingredients:

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup liquid pasteurized egg whites

1 tsp chia seeds

1-2 tsp sweetener of choice (I like real maple syrup or agave syrup)

 

Overnight oat variations–combine with base ingredients:

Peanut butter & banana: add 1 tbsp natural peanut butter + 1 medium sliced banana + 1/2 tbsp of cocoa (if you want it chocolatey!)

Peach pecan: add 1 small sliced peach + 2 tbsp pecans

Strawberry almond: add 1 cup strawberries + 1 tbsp almond butter + 1 tbsp slivered almonds

Blueberry coconut: add 3/4 cup blueberries + 2 tbsp dried unsweetened coconut

 

Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit! Either works great! If using frozen fruit, I recommend using 2 tsp chia seeds. The extra chia seeds will absorb the extra liquid from the thawed berries and keep your oatmeal nice and thick.

 

Directions

Combine all the base ingredients, plus all flavor variation ingredients. Store in a pint-size wide-mouth mason jar, or any Tupperware container overnight. Eat cold in the morning!

 

 

Nutrition info per serving (base only): 208 cal, 3 g fat, 23 g carb, 20 g protein, 5 g fiber

 

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