Eating breakfast each morning kick-starts your metabolism and helps to balance your blood sugars from the get-go. Without breakfast you'll find yourself lacking energy, meaning the quality of your work could be compromised, and you're much more likely to reach from something unhealthy come lunch time to cure those hunger pangs. The usual excuse for skipping breakfast is that we're time poor - our modern lives can feel frantic and we'd much rather that extra half an hour of sleep in the morning. The beauty of this recipe is we get started the night before, so when you wake up all you have to do is eat it. Oats form the base here, providing the fuel for your brain, and the chia, buckwheat, cacao and nuts provide an added bonus of antioxidants, vitamins and protein. Get creative with your toppings - nothing is off the cards - for a supercharged breakfast that gives you all of the benefits of a good healthy meal without compromising on taste (or time).
Blueberry and Chocolate Overnight Oats
Ingredients
1/4 cup oats
1 cup of milk (your choice of coconut, oat, almond, etc)
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon of buckwheat groats
1 tablespoon of hemp seeds
1 tablespoon peptias
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1 handful of chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil, cashews, etc)
2 teaspoons of fresh local honey (less or more depending on your preference)
Toppings
Fresh seasonal fruit (blueberries, strawberries, figs, peaches, raspberries, etc)
Coconut yogurt
90% dark chocolate (shaved)
Your choice of chia seeds, pepitas, hemp seeds, sesame seeds
Method
Combine oats, chia seeds, buckwheat, hemp seeds, pepitas, nuts and cacao in a large jar. Fasten the lid and give it a good shake to combine all the ingredients.
Add in your milk of choice and honey, close the lid and shake once more. Place in the fridge to sit overnight.
In the morning pour the jar of oats into a bowl and top with a spoonful of coconut yogurt. Sprinkle extra seeds, your choice of fruit and (f you are feeling it) grate on some good quality 90 per cent dark chocolate.
If you want to eat on the go just add all extra toppings straight into the jar.
Chloe Wilkinson is a practicing clinical naturopath at The Good Health Co.
