Over Night Oats: Nut Butter & Chocolate

Overnight Oats: Nut Butter & Chocolate

Who needs a quick, easy, healthy and yummy breakfast idea? Pretty much EVERYONE! A great way to start your day is with oats. They're full of fiber which will leave you feeling full without a huge calorie load. They're also full of essential vitamins and minerals and have been shown to decrease risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Count me in.

My favorite ways to eat oats in the morning are in waffles, baked oatmeal muffins or in overnight oats. 

It takes less than five minutes to assemble these babies, they're so easy my kids make them! Feel free to use whichever nut butter you like best, I switch between pb and almond but sometimes I'll go for cashew or walnut. My favorite non dairy milk is homemade cashew, but almond would be a great addition. 

You'll need:

2 T cacao

1/2 c nut butter (no oil)

1/2 c cashew milk

1/4 maple syrup

1 t vanilla

Pinch of sea salt

1 T chia seeds

2.5 c oats

Optional add-ins: dark chocolate chips, more seeds or chopped nuts

Mix all ingredients except chia seeds and oats until smooth, then use a spatula to combine oats and seeds until mixed. If the mixture is thick, add in more non-dairy milk. Makes 4 half pints.

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

I'm always looking for an easy breakfast for my kids. I usually make double batches of waffles, pancakes or muffins on lazy days but that can get boring.  A few years ago, before we cleaned up our diets, a quick breakfast I would give the kids was a popular, store-bought "breakfast cookie" that I thought looked healthy. I was incredibly wrong. They were full of GMOs, trans fats, artificial colors and flavors, and a whole mess of chemicals. My version of breakfast cookies contain none of that and are made with only 7 ingredients. They're also naturally gluten free. Add the delicious glaze if you feel the need to indulge a bit, they are tasty either way.

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

For the cookie

1 c ground oats (can be ground in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder)
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
1 c nut butter (I used PB)
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (my favorite is real salt)
3 ripe, smashed bananas 
1/3 c dark chocolate chips 

For the glaze

2 T maple syrup
2 T cacao
1 tsp coconut oil
2 T peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 350F. Mix the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined. Add in the salt, ground and whole oats, stirring until incorporated, then fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon 1/3 c batter onto baking sheet, making large, round cookies, 2-3 inches wide. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. (sometimes I broil them on low for a minute to get a golden color on top) 

Let cool on a wire rack before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze, I used a double broiler, added all of the ingredients to the bowl and whisked until combined. Spoon the mixture into a ziploc bag, snip a tiny corner off the bag for piping, and decorate the cookies in whatever pattern you like.

This recipe makes 10 large cookies.