Sometimes you just need to refresh your breakfast routine. We tend to go through cycles where we do a lot of overnight oats for several weeks, or Dutch Baby’s on the weekends. Thankfully, my kids are easy-going when it comes to breakfast, but it’s nice to do something other than eggs, cereal, or oatmeal.
Lilyana’s friend slept over after the party on Saturday, and the kids were so excited to share one of our favorite breakfast dishes with her: Overnight Oatmeal Casserole. I love this recipe, for many reasons, and some of my favorites are that soaking oats:
allows vitamins to be released
encourages healthier digestion by partially breaking down some of the proteins
make you feel fuller for longer (a must for my growing-always-hungry-boys!)
The night before, you just mix together the oats and some buttermilk. I like to have all of the spices mixed up the night before as well and the other ingredients placed for easy assembly. This weekend, since it was all about strawberries, I sliced up fresh strawberries to top our bowls, and it was perfection. This recipe is perfect for weekday meals, but you can even prepare it for weekend brunches with your girls, or for morning wedding or baby showers.
Combing the following ingredients the night before:
3 Cups rolled oats (not instant) 2 Cups buttermilk (or 2 C. milk + 2 T. kefir or plain yogurt)
Mix together and set aside until morning:
1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp ginger 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt
In the morning, combine the following:
1 tsp real vanilla 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted ¼ - ½ c maple syrup or agave 2 eggs, beaten
Add this to the soaked oats, and then stir in the dry ingredients. Bake in a buttered 11 X 7 baking pan at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Top with fresh fruit, chia seeds, chopped nuts, ground flax seeds, warmed milk, pats of Kerrygold butter, and drizzled with warm maple syrup.