Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Some say that eating breakfast is almost as important as exercising. I am not sure how people get away with not eating breakfast in the morning, but I know it is common. I have a hard time eating before I exercise in the morning, but when I am done – I am usually famished. I also know that the better night sleep I get, the hungrier I am in the morning. If I don’t get lot of sleep the night before, I am not usually very hungry, but then throughout the day I feel like I need to eat – just to get a little extra bit of energy.
So what do I eat for breakfast? It definitely varies – I love a good bowl of cold cereal in the morning, or a nice bowl of hot oatmeal – and lately I have been adding a delicious hard-boiled egg to the mix – and with a bowl of cereal, that really gets me through the morning well. On Friday I was walking by someone’s office, and happened to notice she was eating something out of a mason jar. I didn’t mean to be nosy, but when it comes to food, I usually can’t hold back – so I asked her what she was eating. Overnight Oats. She quickly explained what she had done – and I was in awe. Basically you just need a base of quick oats and milk (coconut milk works perfectly), and the rest of all up to what you like. You can add fruit, yogurt, sweeteners, spices – the sky is the limit.
I did a quick search on Bing to see what I could find – and wow, this is all over the food blogs. I had no idea! I tried hard to get it out of my head until after work – I had way too much to do on Friday to be distracted, but it made my day knowing I had this to look forward to. On my way home that day, I was spent. It was a long week – too long – all I wanted to do was sit on the bus and do nothing. Then I remembered my little project – and I created a great recipe in my head – the focus was on coconut and chocolate.
I whipped this up in less than 5 minutes, and on Saturday morning, I couldn’t wait to dig in. It was better than I could have imagined – and since I prefer my oatmeal to be warm, I just stuck it in the microwave for a minute, and it was perfect. I have a new favorite breakfast treat – thank goodness I walked down that hallway on Friday. Which leads me to wonder…what other breakfast treats are hiding in the hallways at work? I may have just found a new way to get a little exercise on Friday mornings, while focusing on the most important meal of the day…
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup vanilla flavored coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean seeds
- 1 ounce grated dark chocolate
First Look, Then Cook 
OMGoodness! I am so making this as soon as I get my hands on all the ingredients.
I do this with chia seeds and flax meal. Sky’s the limit on what you can add for flavorings. I just had one soaked in coffee with cinnamon, walnuts and cocoa. The chia makes it more pudding-like, but it’s a good variation.
This is so clever!!! I absolutely love this idea. I’ve been on a big granola kick lately, but this is perfect for a fast breakfast. I know the kids will like it too – especially since you can customize to different tastes. I hope you have a great week Dawn!
I’m a huge fan of overnight oats! In the summer, when I don’t want hot oatmeal, I’ll make it with greek yogurt as well. 1/2 cup quick oats + 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup greek yogurt with LOTS of mix-ins. I don’t think my mix-ins were as fancy as your grated dark chocolate and vanilla bean seeds :)
This is like breakfast and a decadent dessert at the same time, love those flavours. I know it is hard getting the kids to eat in the morning before they leave for school as they have to leave so early but this would be great as it is done the night before so all ready for the am rush. Take care, BAM