For the past two years my Mum has been making soaked oats for us most weekday mornings. It has been the most admired breakfast, especially by her work colleagues as she takes it in a jar to eat at her desk. Her 'Nikistyle Brekki' is now quite famous with our friends and followers, so I asked her to write a post sharing the recipe. And now you can now give it a try at home for yourself!
By Niki:
Soaked oats has been a relatively new food idea, and although some may feel the word itself doesn’t sound that enticing, I can assure you the result once combined with various toppings, is a real winner of a breakfast. Ditch the boring breakfast and try this.
Health benefits:
Incredibly nutritious - amongst the healthiest grains on earth
A good source of slow release carbs & fibre
High in protein
Vitamin & mineral rich (too many to mention)
Full of antioxidants
Low in calories
I’ve been making my soaked oats in jars and glasses and taking them to work for breakfast for some time now and repeatedly get asked for the recipes so here goes! Find the combination you like and experiment with your own flavours and ingredients! Variety is key.
MAIN RECIPE
Ingredients
1/2 cup of rolled oats (we like Flahavans Irish Organic porridge oats)
1/2 cup of milk, (we like to use coconut milk or almond milk)
Pinch of cinnamon
2-3 tps chia seeds
Pinch of salt
Yoghurt (we like coconut, almond and vanilla flavoured Alpro or high protein and greek style)
Optional - bit of sweetness to drizzle on top if you wish, I would recommend:
Honey
Maple syrup
Date syrup
Agave nectar syrup
Topping ideas
Fruit, raspberries/blueberries
Goji berries/mulberries/ cranberries
Nuts, pistachios/almonds
Desiccated or flaked coconut
Seeds, pumpkin/sunflower
Ground flax seeds
Raw cacao nibs/grated dark chocolate
Grated apple/pear
Granola
Breakfast boost mix*
Method
The night before…
In a glass, bowl or jar, soak the oats in the milk, cinnamon, salt, chia and mix together (optional, add dried fruit to the mixture)
Cover and leave in the fridge overnight
In the morning add your toppings
Yoghurt, then fruit, seeds, nuts, syrup, granola etc
Add a spoonful of confidence - experiment and enjoy!
I use equal quantities of oats to milk and sometimes add a splash more of milk depending on the amount of chia I add. Some people prefer the oats to be more soggy (in which case add more milk) but my preference is that equal quantity usually works for me. Try it out and adjust to your own preference.
Here are some of my favourite combinations to add to the soaked oats:
1.
Blueberries* (stewed or whole)
Natural plain yoghurt (Greek, soy, or coconut yoghurt)
Pinch of cinnamon
Sprinkle of Naturya superfood breakfast boost (the cacao crunch one is our favourite)
White mulberries (chewy, sweet, full of vitamin C, K, iron & potassium)
Drizzle of maple syrup
2.
Raspberries*
Natural yoghurt as above, use your favourite
Breakfast boost*
Sprinkling of low sugar granola
Pumpkin seeds
Sprinkling of desiccated coconut
3.
Frozen mango or tropical fruit mix (defrost in fridge overnight)
Natural yoghurt
Desiccated or flaked coconut
Breakfast boost*
Flaked almonds
Seeds of your choice
CHOCOLATE SOAKED OATS
Add a flat teaspoon of raw cacao powder to the oats and continue the main recipe above to soak them in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, top with:
Natural yoghurt
Grated pear
Raisins, dried cherries or dried cranberries
*Microwave the blueberries or raspberries for 20-30 seconds to stew them, leave to cool for 1 min before adding to your brekki. This creates a sweet natural sauce from the fruit and softens them for a gorgeous topping.
The combinations are endless. I could give you so many recipes but my best advice is to buy some dried fruit to soak with the oats, plenty of seeds and nuts as toppings, some breakfast boost, chia seeds and try out a few ideas.
One of my personal favourites is cherries with chocolate oats.... also a fan of the grated pear or apple combo. We even tried chocolate oats with fresh orange segments last week and it was a winner (see photo above).
Who knew healthy breakfast could be so much fun!
Love Niki xx
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