Breakfast: the rush, the schoolbags, the lunchboxes, the clock ticking, someone’s lost shoe, the need to eat on the run… This has been my go-to breakfast for the last few weeks – and a lifesaver. The trick: throw the ingredients together the night before, let it soak, throw on any toppings in the morning & eat. That’s it. No cooking.
Why revved-up? Because I’ve added maca (that earthy, almost caramelly Peruvian root) for a natural superfood boost, and cacao, because chocolate deserves a place at every meal. Even though I’ve written measurements, this is a fully flexi recipe that I urge you to play with. Swap or bump ingredients. Make it yours.The chia, sunflower seeds & buckwheat are packed with protein (among many other wonderful things). Soaking them overnight not only softens them, but also allows them to activate, releasing beneficial enzymes.
I leave my oats in a bowl overnight, covered with a tea towel, while my partner mixes oats in a jar (uh oh, hipster alert!) & runs out the door with them, ready to eat later. The resulting breakfast is dense, moist, not-too-sweet (unless you rev that up too!) and super nutritious.
The recipe below makes a bowl/jar for one.
1/4 -1/2 cup gluten free oats * (see important note below)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp buckwheat groats
1 tsp maca powder
½-1 tsp mesquite powder to taste – or use sweetener of your choice, like maple or coconut sugar
2-3 tsp cacao powder
2/3 – 1 cup milk of your choice, depending on how many oats you use (I like the delicate sweetness of rice milk)
toppings of your choice (berries, banana, cacao nibs, any seasonal fruit, coconut yoghurt…)
for an extra choco hit, add a sprinkling of cacao nibs into your soak
* if you are coeliac or preparing food for one, please be very careful with the oats you purchase. They MUST be labelled gluten-free. Here in New Zealand, most supermarket oats are grown & processed with wheat (hence, contaminated with gluten), though you can find gluten-free oats online or at specialist shops (my local bulk foods store stocks them) Many coeliacs, including my daughter, can digest gluten-free oats with ease, but for others, it’s a no-go zone.
Simply load all your dry ingredients into a bowl or jar, and mix well. Then add the milk and mix again. You can add frozen berries at this point if you like.
(It’s winter here in New Zealand, so I’m happy to leave my bowl in the pantry overnight. But if you’re in a warm climate, consider storing it in the fridge)
Getting home after the school drop-off madness, it’s a pleasure to sit down with a hot green tea and treat myself to a softly-sweetened bowl of goodness.
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