Soaking ingredients for the next morning has now become a part of our family night routine, just like brushing our teeth or feeding the cats. Chia pudding and overnight oats takes 2 minutes to prepare. You can make a big jar of both and enjoy them 3-4 days later! These are two simple recipes that you can adapt to fit your taste.

I’ve probably made 40 different kinds of overnight oats so far. They are on every food blog and in every healthy cookbook and I can understand why! I personally prefer this uncooked version of oatmeal rather than the regular hot oatmeal morning bowl. It has more texture and is way easier and faster to prepare. It is also a great grab-n-go breakfast!

The recipe is pretty simple. You just have to soak your oats with your favorite milk. You can also add a sweetener, vanilla extract, bananas, chia seeds, maca or raw cacao powder and other nutritious ingredients for a different twist. I like my overnight oats cold and right out of the fridge, but I know a bunch of people who warm it up a little bit in the morning. I usually serve mine with fresh fruits and maple syrup, but I also enjoy to layer the oats with a /fruit puree.

In this case, the oats were served with persimmon puree. Persimmons ("kakis" in french) are my most recent "farmer's market" discovery. This wonderful orange fall/winter fruit has a sweet and sour taste. There are two main types of persimmon ; the Fuyu (see photos above) are ready-to-eat when hard. The Hachiya persimmon are bigger and have a pointed shape. They are ripe when soft. If you can't find persimmon for this specific recipe, you can purée apricots, mangoes, peaches, strawberries, raspberries or other fruit or your choice.

Have you heard of superfoods? Chia and hemp seeds, fermented foods, raw cacao, curcuma, seaweed and maca are just a few of a list that's becoming more and more exhaustive every year. Green tea and goji berries are also known as superfoods because of their exceptionally high content of nutrients.

Therefore, I like to add a little bit a matcha (green tea powder) to my basic overnight oats recipe. It is now well known that green tea is part of a healthy diet, since it has a high content in antioxydants. Antioxidants are natural chemical compounds that prevent aging and chronic diseases, like cancer. When you brew a cup of green tea, the antioxydants are trapped in the leaves and the water can only extract a fraction of its benefits. Consuming the entire leaf raises the green tea antioxidant potential... But that doesn't mean you should eat whole tea leaves! You can find matcha tea powder in natural organic stores or in tea salons or shops. I also added goji berries, since they have a sweet taste and are so pretty on top of the bowl!

Doesn’t that look delicious? I’m pretty confident you’ll enjoy the taste of overnight oats, even if you never liked the traditional "bowl of hot oatmeal". Simply give it a try!

Matcha overnight oats (w/ persimmon puree and goji berries)

Adapted from A Dash of compassion

Yield : 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1,5 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup chia seeds

3 cups almond milk (or other milk of your choice)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 banana, mashed

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (to taste)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon matcha tea powder (optional)

2 persimmons, diced

Goji berries (for garnish)

To make the overnight oats, mix together all the ingredients (except the persimmon and goji berries). Stir well to combine.
For the puree, blend the diced persimmons. If you don't have a high speed blender, you may have to add a few tablespoons of water to have a smooth puree. If the puree is sweet enough for you, feel free to add a little bit of honey or maple syrup.
In a glass or in a jar, layer the oats mixture with the puree and refrigerate overnight. You can also make your overnight oats and set aside in the fridge and add your fruits and puree only in the morning. That way, you can vary the toppings every day.
Serve with goji berries on top (or other fruits you like!).