Recipe: Brownie Overnight Oats

Dietitian confessions go both ways. While we’re often the ones people ‘confess’ to about eating certain junk foods, we also like to purify our minds and souls by relating our dietary ‘sins’.

You may remember that we have really loved ice cream throughout our lives, even to the point where travels to Italy were less about the architecture and more about finding the perfect gelateria (true story), but we didn’t reveal that we also grew up making (read: eating) brownies. Heaven on a dessert plate would be the two served together – brownie a la mode style. Hell would be making us choose only one to have at our last dessert. Obviously, it would be a real Sophie’s Choice situation.

As we’ve ventured into finding healthier forms of ice cream (done and done), we’ve done the same for brownies (check out our black bean version). But to have brownies for breakfast? Well, that required a little extra dietary finesse…and so we’ve created a decadent, yet healthy, version of eating brownies for the first meal of the day, or even as a snack for when sugar cravings strike. Care to partake? Here’s the recipe:

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

1 cup organic rolled oats

1 banana, mashed

1 cup non-dairy almond or hazelnut milk (DIY almond milk or the ready-made hazelnut version)

3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder

2 tbsp chopped nuts (e.g. pecan, walnut, macademia) or nut butter

2 tbsp cacao nibs or 85% chocolate chips, optional

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Stir together rolled oats, cocoa/cacao powder and chia seeds in a mason jar or other container with a lid. Add nuts, nibs/chocolate chips, banana, non-dairy milk, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Seal the lid and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds. Place in fridge overnight. The next morning, top with chocolate chips and/or fresh berries if you’d like. Enjoy!

On-the-Go: Healthy Snacks

photo source: iron-kids.com

We know snacking can be difficult at times because of the challenge in figuring out what to eat, how much, and when to snack. Going overboard and reaching for the wrong type of snack is common. Snacks can be essential in keeping blood sugar stable between meals; the key is eating the right ones. Keep your upcoming week’s activities in mind while you plan out your snacks; this will keep you on track and from grabbing the easy choice of pre-packaged foods. Healthy snacks can be delicious and fun way to play with your food. Instead of reaching for convenience snacks like chips, crackers, cookies, and other foods filled with preservatives, go for fresh foods like fruits and vegetables. Get creative with your snacks and try these ideas! Go-to healthy snacks:

• 1 apple with nut butter
• Carrot sticks, celery, and radishes with hummus
• Greek yogurt with berries
• Hard boiled eggs
• 1 serving of mixed nuts or trail mix
• Homemade energy bars