Overnight Oats Recipe + “Wind Down” Activities

overnight oats recipe

Happy Thursday, CWH readers!

I recently have fallen back in love with a lot of old favorites: manicures with one nail painted different, watching the Gilmore Girl series through another time, and short hair! (Did you see my Instagram post?)

Another old favorite is overnight oats!

When I started my sophomore year of college, I was really keen on getting a good, satisfying breakfast, but I had early classes and knew that I didn’t want to have to get up at the crack of dawn to make something yummy. That’s how I found OO’s and fell in love.

For anyone who asks how to make it, the easiest method is more milk than oats in your mason jar (or a covered bowl), and put that in the fridge overnight. In the morning, add your toppings + sweeteners. I would always do brown sugar or honey and cinnamon plus whatever fruit I had on hand, usually bananas.

But since rediscovering how yummy this breakfast is, I wanted to try a new recipe.

My family has been using Shipt from HEB (#notsponsored) to get our groceries because the HEB isn’t super close to us in our new house, but we really love their produce and meat better than Kroger or Walmart. We love using them, but the only issue is that sometimes we accidentally select more food than we mean to. ? The reason I’m telling ya’ll this is because we accidentally got 3 whole cases of raspberries instead of just 1! Haha.

So I decided it would be fun to make overnight oats with some raspberries!

Here’s the recipe:

overnight oats recipe

Ingredients:

*for one serving

  • 1/2 cup oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats.) 
  • 1 cup milk (I find that this makes the oats really creamy, so if you like less milk/more of a dry, thick consistency for oats, use 3/4 cup milk of choice.) 
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup raspberries

for toppings to add the next morning:

  • half a ripe banana
  • about 1 tbsp Justin’s hazelnut butter (or nut butter of choice) 

overnight oats recipe

Directions:

  • in a mason jar or bowl you’ll cover with plastic wrap, mix your milk, vanilla, and syrup
  • add all your oats, and make sure they’re completely soaked
  • add raspberries
  • cover with lid or plastic wrap, and place in fridge overnight
  • in the morning, add half banana and hazelnut butter
  • microwave for 30 seconds if you like to eat your oats hot!
  • serve with a cuppa coffee 🙂

overnight oats recipe

By the way, this day I made an at-home mocha latte! I’ve been loving mochas lately, but I’m trying not to spend all my hard earned cash at the coffee shop. I used our espresso machine to pour some espresso into my mug and then I added about a 1/3 of a packet of hot chocolate mix. I added my milk and voila! It was perfect!

If you’re using a Keurig or some other kind of drip coffee, I think your ratio would be one 8 ounce cup of coffee to a full packet of hot chocolate. My espresso shot is itty bitty, so I didn’t use that much of the hot chocolate. Then add your milk or creamer!

I also wanted to share some ideas for how to wind down at night. I know that it can be difficult to relax and let your brain and body know, “hey, it’s time to chill so we can sleep!” but it’s important. You’ll feel so much more refreshed and in a better mood if you get some sleep and let your body and mind rest rather than staying up late doing random chores and/or watching Netflix.

I like to specifically do activities that don’t require technology and that help me have a more productive day the next day.

Make or prep breakfast for the next day 

Yup – that’s what most of this post is about! I love the act of making food, so making my overnight oats is really calming, and it gives me something to look forward to the next day! Sometimes I also pack my lunch for work.

Pick out your outfit for the next day

I actually love this part of my day! Really, I’m just helping out my future self by getting my clothes, shoes, and jewelry figured out for the next day, but it’s also kind of fun to go “shopping” in my closet and put together a look. Sometimes I scroll through my “Style” board on Pinterest for a bit to find some inspiration, and with a couple candles lit, that can be really relaxing.

Read 

(Duh.) But have you seen my “What I Read: July” post? Maybe you can find a good book there!

Paint/Watercolor/Sketch/Do Calligraphy

I have a ton of art supplies because next to my love for dogs, running, food, and reading, I LOVE art. I love to put on a relaxing playlist, light some candles, and just check out for a little bit while creating.

Go for a walk and listen to podcasts

I did this the other night with my dog, Chip. (He LOVES walks. Sleeps all day, but the second you say, “Wanna go for a walk?” he FLIPS.) It was just nice and calming to walk and listen to a podcast.

 

Let me know if you try out the overnight oats and what your favorite “wind down” activity is!

X,

Cristina

Food, Health
Food, Health