EZ Overnight Oats

I want to eventually do some YouTube videos, but that takes a lot of time! Hope to get to them. Just ordered an external webcam (Razor Kiyo) with a light, so will use that for my first post. But for now, can post my favorite recipes, starting with this, at aka.ms/EZVegan.

I usually make 2-3 of these at a time for convenience. Not any more as I want them more fresh.

• Use one Mason Jar (or 2 or 3)
• Put half a cup of Raw rolled Oats in the jar
• Add Cinnamon to taste – up to one teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon or tablespoon of raw Pumpkin seed pepitas (the seeds inside the shell)
  • Why? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-benefits-of-pumpkin-seeds#section1 – the nutritional bonus is insane for how small they are!
• Start with 1 teaspoon of ground flaxseed – as you eat more, add more – this is a powerful antioxidant!!! I do about 2 tablespoons now!
  • Why? Read the science https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/flax-seeds/
  • And watch https://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefits-of-flaxseed-meal-for-weight-loss/
• Add a Tablespoon of crushed walnuts
  • Why – they top the chart as the healthiest nuts!
  • Watch The Best Nuts
• Once they are all in the jar, close the lid and shake it up or stir with a spoon
• Add your favorite non-dairy milk. Fill the jar until the ‘milk’ just comes to the top of the oats
  • I confess I cheat a little and use the sweetened vanilla soy or almond milk, but shoot for the lower sugar version.
  • A little sugar won’t do much harm and will make it yummier for sure!
  • A tip for the healthiest sugar to sweeten it would be to not use sweetened non-dairy milk, but add ground granulated date sugar (cause it has the fiber!)
  • The next healthiest sweetener option would be some molasses – yum!
• Put a pile of dried raisins or cherries on top. Or your favorite dried fruits.
• Close the lid (s) and place in the refrigerator
• Next morning, add your favorite fresh fruits
  • I almost always use about a cup of fresh blueberries.
  • WHY? Want to improve “Mild Cognitive Disorder” i.e. forgetting names and things?
    • https://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefits-of-blueberries-for-the-brain/
    • And even better proof Power Foods for the Brain | Neal Barnard
  • Alternate Fruity ideas
    • Finely dice up some Honey Crisp Apples – gives a nice crunch!
    • When in Season fresh diced peaches are amazing!
    • Love fresh Michigan cherries, well cause I live in Michigan 😉
• I usually dump this into a larger bowl and then add quite a bit more of my favorite non-dairy drink. – Enjoy! Here is what the end result looked like this morning…

EZ Tweaks

These are alternate ideas as I mix it up and try different things!

• PB2 Powered Peanut Butter powder
  • I added this to the picture above.  I only added a good tablespoon so it didn’t overpower it with PB flavor but I really enjoyed it more.  If you really want a PB flavor maybe shoot for a couple tablespoons. There is a PB with chocolate variety also 😉
• Other fruits or nuts.  The possibilities are endless!
  • In the picture above I also added blackberries
  • Strawberries or Raspberries
  • Bananas
  • I’ve done fresh mango – yum
  • finely diced apples
  • Fresh Peaches
  • Acai
  • Cranberries
  • Concord Grapes
  • Gogi berries or dried powder
  • Almonds
  • Pecans
  • etc
• Spices!
  • one friend adds tumeric and beet root powder -hmmmm
    • But there are definite health reasons for each
      • See why Best Brain Foods: Greens & Beets Put to the Test
      • And Flashback Friday: Heart of Gold – Turmeric vs. Exercise
  • Vanilla Bean
  • Ginger
  • Cardamom
  • Nutmeg
  • Mint or Peppermint
  • Allspice
  • etc
• Greens
  • chop up some spinach
  • Kale
  • etc
• The idea here is to add more nutritional punch for this most important meal of the day
  • A good way to figure out “what else to add” is to reference Dr Gregor’s Daily Dozen Checklist. In that list Dr. Gregor identifies foods that have unique properties to consider in our daily diet.
  • BTW you can get this as an APP for either Apple or Android phones  -good to use until you simply ‘get it’.

Nutrition

Since I started using my Fitbit app to track what I eat, I can now see the nutritional content.  While I normally haven’t tracked what I eat, I’ve been trying to focus more on nutritionally dense and low caloric dense foods (i.e. veggies).  And now when I see my caloric intake climbing towards my daily totals, and I’m still hungry, I just grab a couple things that have low calories and are super healthy e.g. bell peppers or carrots and an apple!

Here is the breakdown from my recipe above with some “tweaks” 😉