One of my biggest time-saving, healthy eating strategies is to prepare meals in advance - whether that is meal prepping for the week, or making my breakfast the night before! Some of my favorite overnight breakfasts to make are overnight oats and chia pudding, and often I will add chia seeds to my overnight oats for some extra protein, but before today I had never combined them into one! I thought it would be delicious to layer them in a parfait-style breakfast, and it was also very fun to get a little artsy making it pretty. You can, of course, make either recipe on its own, or combine them as I did! You do have to make them in separate containers if you want to achieve the layering effect; however, you could easily combine all the ingredients into one chia and oat breakfast if you want to mix the flavors!
I had some blueberries leftover from when I had to bring snacks to class yesterday, so I wanted to use them in this breakfast (I was the designated “feeder” - I also made red velvet muffins using a scaled-down version of my red velvet cake recipe, which was a hit! I made them heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day!). I love the combination of blueberries and pumpkin, so I choose to add pumpkin puree. I am a great believer in eating pumpkin year-round! It is so delicious and nutritious, and does not deserve its customary relegation to only the fall months! When I was in New Zealand last fall, they actually had pumpkin cubes and half pumpkins sold at grocery stores, which I thought was super cool.
This is a great vegan and gluten-free (if you use gluten-free oats) breakfast option, and can be nut-free if you use seed butter instead of peanut butter. You could do this with pretty much any flavor or add-ins for either the pudding or oats to customize this. Omit or swap out the peanut butter powder and pumpkin and add whatever you like! For the pumpkin puree, note that this is not the same pumpkin pie filling - the only ingredient should be pumpkin! I like the Trader Joe’s brand the best (I have tried the kind sold at Whole Foods and Target and am not as big of a fan of the consistency). I love the Crazy Richard’s peanut powder because it has less saturated fat than regular peanut butter (and I have learned a lot in medical school that saturated fat contributes to many health problems), and the only ingredient is peanuts. Of course, I still love regular peanut butter (I choose some with no added sugar), and added some to top this off! But the powder has a more concentrated flavor, so it is really great for mixing in and baking! You could also add a splash of maple syrup or honey to the oats and/or chia pudding to make them a bit sweeter if you like.
Peanut overnight oats
Ingredients
½ cup whole grain oats
1 cup milk (I used oat milk)
2 tbsp peanut powder (or you can use regular nut butter)
Splash of vanilla
Dash of cinnamon
Steps
1. Mix all ingredients together in a jar.
2. Seal jar and refrigerate overnight.
Before and after overnight refrigeration
Pumpkin chia pudding
Ingredients
¼ cup chia seeds
¾ cup milk (I used oat milk)
½ cup pumpkin puree
Dash of pumpkin spice
Dash of cinnamon
Splash of vanilla
Steps
1. Mix all ingredients together in a jar.
2. Seal jar and refrigerate overnight.
Before and after overnight refrigeration
In the morning, use a spoon to add alternating layers of oats, chia pudding, and fruit into a jar. Then enjoy at home or on the go!
For more easy time-saving breakfast ideas, this post shares my overnight zucchini oat recipe that has really become my staple since starting medical school - every Saturday, I work starting at 7 AM at Pure Barre, so I always prepare a breakfast of overnight oats in advance so I can grab it and bring it to work in the morning! I often make a big batch of these overnight oats for the week too - especially if it is an exam week, or if I have a lot of early classes. You could definitely add shredded zucchini to the oats in this recipe as well - I just didn’t have any on hand last night.
Anyways, I get asked a lot what my tips are for eating healthy on a busy schedule, so I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you make this recipe, or any variation!