Overnight Oats for the 9am

 AM Lalor

We’ve all heard it before, but a good breakfast will set you up for a good day. And if you have a 9am, you’ll need all the help you can get. 

Overnight oats are the perfect solution if you can’t see yourself getting up early enough to prepare a nourishing breakfast before class, and they’re also incredibly handy if you’re an early riser with more important things to do. By taking five minutes the night before to create this delicious pot of goodness, you’re setting yourself up right— also, because of its low environmental impact.

The three recipes below are, first of all, vegan. You can, of course, use dairy milk when making them, but given the impact of dairy production on the environment, a plant-based milk would be better. There are myriad plant milks now available readily in supermarkets in the Netherlands, all varyingly nutritious and costly. However, making your own oat milk at home is cheap, delicious, and sustainable. You can buy oats package free from the Organic Market next to Binnenhof on Wednesdays, or order them in paper bags from levenzonderafval.com. Blend one cup of oats with three cups of water, and strain through a cheesecloth, or a sieve. Finally, in terms of the environmental credit of these dishes, they are all created using fruit that’s either frozen or in season in autumn, both of which cut down on transportation. So, these dishes are good for both your conscience and your belly. And, when it gets colder, just stick your pot of oats in the microwave for 90 seconds and they’ll be toasty warm.

Recipe 1: Apple and Cinnamon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup plant milk

1 apple

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp maple syrup/sugar/other sweetener (or not, if you prefer) 

1. Chop the apple and put it in a saucepan over a medium heat, with a drop or two of water at the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Be sure to stir it frequently, to help with the breakdown of the apple. Once it becomes soft and mashable, it’s ready — this should take 10-15 minutes. When you take it off the heat, add sweetener if you like, and half the teaspoon of cinnamon. Put this in a jar/bowl/tupperware. Alternatively: you can bake the apple in the oven, halved, with a sprinkle of sugar for 25 minutes, if you fancy something with a bit more texture.
2. If you’re feeling brave enough to multi-task, put the oats and plant milk in another jar/bowl/tupperware, and mix in the rest of the cinnamon, and more sweetener, if you like. Put this in the fridge— overnight is best, but at least leave the oats to soak up the milk for 2 or 3 hours. It’s best to keep this mixture separate from the apple until most of the milk has been soaked up by the oats, otherwise your apples will get milky, which is not especially appetising.
3. In the morning, or after the oats have been soaking for three hours, top them with the apple mixture and sprinkle a last pinch of cinnamon on top, for aesthetic purposes. You can mix the apple and the oats up, if you’re a wild animal, or enjoy their beautiful layering effect first, like a civilised person.

Recipe 2: Chocolate and Raspberry 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup plant milk (hazelnut would be delicious here, but any will work)

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp maple syrup/sugar/other sweetener (or not, if you prefer)

1/4 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1. Put the oats, plant milk, cocoa powder, sweetener (if preferred), and raspberries (saving three for the topping) together in a jar/bowl/tupperware, and mix together until well combined (not that lumps of cocoa powder are unpleasant, but still). 
2. Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or for two to three hours.
3. In the morning, top with the leftover raspberries for aesthetic purposes, and enjoy!

Recipe 3: Blueberry and Nut or Seed Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup plant milk

1 tbsp nut or seed butter (the picture above uses dark tahini)

1/4 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tsp maple syrup/sugar/other sweetener (or not, if you prefer) 

1. Put the oats, plant milk, sweetener (if preferred), and blueberries (saving three for the topping) together in a jar/bowl/tupperware, and mix together.
2. Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or for two to three hours.
3. In the morning, top with the tablespoon of nut or seed butter and the leftover blueberries (for aesthetic purposes), and enjoy!

(Recipes approved by Ailish’s little sister).