Sleepy Head-proof No Cook Breakfasts

Until the first snow, I will be kvetching about heat. It’s just how I am. Now for the big news: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! You’ve heard it a thousand zillion times and it is true. Many of us like to loll in bed in the mornings as long as we can before we head off to the daily grind. In order to get a good start on the day and make it until lunch time without junking out, guess what? You need that most important meal of the day! Grab and go does not mean going through a fast food place and grabbing some kind of template full of fat sodium something. Grab and go does mean stopping at the snack machine in your office building and grabbing a bag of chips and a soda. Grab and Go DOES MEAN: grab a something good, yummy, full of protein, low in sugar and sodium meal that you can throw in your backpack or briefbag and eat on the train/bus or at your desk as your computer boots up and your endless emails load.

My Number One favorite Grab and Go is Overnight Oats. Fix the night before and let it do its magic while you sleep. In the winter I flavor this with chunks of apple, cinnamon, walnuts, dried cranberries. In the summer – nuttin’ honey except for some fresh chopped peach or assorted berries on top. Make this with Irish/steel cut oats and add honey, maple syrup, stevia, splenda, whatever. Make it with milk, almond milk (sweetened or not), soy milk, cashew milk. Add some chopped walnuts or almonds. Put the ingredients into a tight sealing plastic bowl type container and throw in the fridge.  Next day grab it and your spoon. Yeah, it is that easy and that good.

Breakfast Number two is a cantelope half, peeled, and set down into one of those tight sealing plastic bowl containers.  Fill with low fat low sugar Greek yogurt of your choice. Sprinkle with chia seeds, almonds, walnuts, some berries.

Breakfast number three: Yogurt with Granola and Jam. Again, in that wonderful plastic bowl, dump out your favorite flavor of low fat and sugar free Greek yogurt.  Take a serving of your favorite granola and dump on top then, drizzle with (if you want to, sugar free) your favorite jam or lemon curd.

Now, aren’t those simple? Recipe for Vegan Overnight Oats below:

1/3 cup rolled oats (Irish, steel cut, or gluten free)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Sweetener to taste if desired
2 tablespoons fresh peach, chopped Or fresh berries
2 tbs. chopped almonds or walnuts

1.Combine all ingredients for the overnight oatmeal in a small plastic container and mix well with a spoon. Cover and let sit in fridge overnight, or for at least four hours prior to serving.
2.Top with a chopped peach and the reserved nuts if you wish. If you decide to microwave, save putting on the fruit until after heating.

public domain clipart

Overnight Oats

English: Bowl of fresh muesli, made from rolled oats, orange juice, blended apple and banana, redcurrants, raisins, cottage cheese, topped with raspberries. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In keeping with the weekend, no elaborate recipes. This recipe is so easy, my cat could fix it. The difference between Overnight Oats and regular oatmeal or slow cooker oats is this:  No Cooking.   It takes me awhile to wake up. I am a morning zombie: moving, going about the routine but brainless until being jolted with caffeine. Idiot proof is the word for breakfasts for me. Overnight Oats is an imminently portable food as well. Fix in a container that has a secure top for taking with you.

When visiting in Switzerland years ago, I fell in love with müesli. Raw oats, other grains, fruits, nuts, liquids – I’ve not been a fan of cold cereal but this stuff made me happy. One night, I was getting ready to have a bowl for my supper when an emergency occurred. I had to leave suddenly to see to a friend and I put the bowl of müesli into the fridge for safe keeping. Next morning, I remembered it and pulled it out. Hello gorgeous! All the grains had softened and the flavors blended. I was not the creator of Overnight Oats, but rather, a discoverer of something easy and good. Others have also discovered this wonderful food.

Overnight Oats do not have to be eaten cold. I’ve taken my container with me to work and nuked for a bit to get warm. Equally good, especially if the morning was cold or rainy and cold. The aroma of cinnamon, apples, maple, bananas, peaches wafting into others’ work areas has caused them to wander in and obtain a printed note from me with the recipe for Overnight Oats.

So enjoy. This is food truly your way and it is good for you. I use whole grains, almond milk, nuts, organic fruits. You don’t have to. It is your way!  Oh, it is good gamer food as well.

I posted a recipe for Slow Cooker Oats in November 2012 and have updated it. I hope you do a search for it and try it. It is truly comfort food.

Overnight Oats

1 part liquid (apple juice, soy mild, almond milk, milk)
1 part rolled oats (non-instant or quick cooking. I like Irish oats)
fruit: apples, peaches, bananas, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, raisins, prunes, etc.
sweetening: sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, stevia, honey, maple syrup,none.
Seasoning: cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, orange zest
Extra: nuts, crumbled muffins, fruit preserves

Method: Mix together and place into a container and cover. Put in fridge. Eat the next morning.

Daily Photo Challenge: Fresh! oh yeah

I ran away from work Friday and had a sabbatical for personal enrichment and development. In other words, I spent a whole day tooling around by my own little round self going hither and thither, in and out of places, looking and poking about and even at some point, I actually purchased a few items: fresh local produce, a couple of kanzashi, a lemon chess pie….among other things.

Yesterday’s Photo challenge was Fresh!  Today, I am beguiling you all with pictures from my favorite local stand – My title for this pictorial is:  Jewels of Summer.  You will find emerald, jade, peridot, opals, pearls, topaz, rubies, garnets.  And I will give you an example of some of the princely sums paid for these jewels:  sweet corn 3/$1, bell peppers (the size of a 16 oz. cottage cheese container!) 3/$1, cukes 2/$1, local peaches and nectarines – $1.49 lb.    So…enjoy my crown jewels!