Hemp Choco-Coffee Overnight Oats

Monday mornings. Humpf. They leave quite a mixed bag of sensations on the tip of my tongue. A feeling of excitement as the new week begins, a sense of the unexpected looming - the unexpected highs as well as the unexpected lows. Accompanying this suspended excitement is the all too common Monday blues part of the equation. The part that moans, “but why?” or “where did the weekend go?”. Well, what better way to combat the Monday blues and exacerbate the more excitable and adventurous spirit in you than starting the day with a delicious bowl of chocolate-y, coffee-y, hemp-y, sweet & decadent goodness? If you ask me, there’s no better cure to bumping to the curb any blues that may be causing a dampener on your attitude towards the week than this bowl right here.

What does this bowl offer? Besides the divine taste & numerous healing benefits (which I will elaborate on further in this post) this Overnight Oats is:

·     Smooth & creamy

·     Sweet & decadent

·     Rich

·     Satisfying

·     Soothing & calming (perfect for a Monday)

·     Energizing & satiating

·     Versatile!

One thing I love about this recipe is how naughty it tastes without being naughty at all -  when you look at the ingredients it’s actually the perfect breakfast food: healthy & delicious. It tastes rich & decadent but it’s really just made from oats, banana and a few other ingredients.

I actually created this recipe by accident. Or shall I say, en route to another recipe which is still under construction. I was trying to create double chocolate blender muffins. I then tried to bake them, and they came out a bit stodgy. I tasted the batter and it tasted delightful, but as soon as I baked it, it came out highly un-fab. So I then decided to keep the batter as is (luckily for us plant munchers there was no raw egg or anything that needed to be cooked in the batter). So I placed it in a big mason jar overnight and allowed it to just soak and expand. What I found the next morning was a delicious, predominantly raw jar of overnight porridge. Topped with some toasted nuts, fresh berries and a drizzle of melted chocolate and some fresh banana you can’t go wrong on this Monday. What’s great is that this recipe created so much that I had breakfast sorted for the next 3 days (including about 2 snacks).

Another major bonus of this recipe is just how versatile it is. Because it’s consistency isn’t exactly that of the regular overnight oats (which usually isn’t blended at all), it can be used for various things such as: a decadent & delicious topping/spread on toast (I know it may sound strange, but it’s delicious, trust me), as a filling for a tart, as a healthy & filling dessert, or I’m thinking it could even be really awesome frozen and then blended to make an “ice-cream” for those people that can’t digest banana (or banana ice-cream) very well. I’m going to give that a try with some of this batch and let you know how it turns out. Stay tuned to find out whether this decadent overnight oats can be turned into decadent semi-raw choco-coffee oat ice-cream. Oh the possibilities are endless. I love plants.

Ingredients:

·     3 cups Jungle Oats (quick cooking oats, not rolled)

·     3  + 1/2  cup water

·     1/3 cup maple syrup/agave/brown rice syrup/honey

·     3 tablespoons coconut sugar or organic raw cane sugar

·     ½ cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

·     ½ banana

·     2 teaspoon cinnamon

·     2 tablespoons ground coffee

·     1 tablespoon hemp powder or green powder of choice

·     ½ teaspoon salt

·     ½ teaspoon stevia leaf powder (optional but recommended)

·     1-2 tablespoons raw oats or granola to serve (optional)

·     ½ fresh banana to serve (optional)

·     1 tablespoon toasted nuts or seeds to serve (optional)

·     ½ tablespoon melted dark Lindt chocolate to serve, I used 90% dark chocolate (optional)

·     ½ tablespoon unground coffee beans to serve (optional)

Method:

1.       Place all of the ingredients in the food processor and blend until desired consistency, I blended mine until it was almost a muffin batter consistency (but I still kept some texture of the oats). I would recommend adding the water ½ cup at a time so that you can control the consistency with more ease. This is the perfect consistency for it to be dual function of a fine porridge as well as a delectable spread for toast or crackers.

2.     Taste, and adjust flavorings or seasonings to your palette. Once it satisfies your palette, place in a big mason jar and set in the fridge for a few hours or preferably overnight.

3.     To serve, take the jar out of the fridge and scoop some into a bowl. Top with fresh berries, sliced banana, toasted nuts & seeds and a drizzle of melted dark chocolate. I like to add about 1 tablespoon of raw oats on top or 1 tablespoon of granola for extra texture & crunch.

4.     To serve as a spread for toast, you can keep it in the jar and place the jar on the table with fresh toast and just slather layers of this onto the toast and top with some toasted seeds and a few slices of fresh banana.

Save and/or serve in a jar as a spread on toast or to eat as is! 

Spread ontop of toast for a delicious sweet, decadent & chocolate-y twist xx

Nutritional Info:

Hemp Powder

Hemp is one of the best sources of plant based protein out there as it contains 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids which cannot be created by the body and therefore need to be obtained through dietary means. Hemp powder also contains the healthy omega-3 and omega-6’s in a healthy 3:1 ratio. Hemp is also high fiber, magnesium, iron, calcium & potassium. This is the ideal supplement if you’re looking to increase your plant based protein intake without buying other “protein” shakes & less natural supplements.

 Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder contains various vitamins & minerals like vitamin E and K, as well as Choline – which is a nutrient that aids in the communication between your nerves and brain. Some minerals found in cocoa powder are magnesium, selenium, copper and some iron. While cocoa powder does have positive health benefits due to the nutrients found in it, usually cocoa powder is consumed in such small quantities that it doesn’t provide a significant addition of nutrients to one’s diet.

Oats

Oatmeal is very nutritious. In my opinion, it is highly underrated. It is filled with many beneficial vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Some examples of prevalent vitamins found in oatmeal are: Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B5. Some examples of minerals found in oats are manganese, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, folate and magnesium. Oats also contain a powerful soluble fiber called Beta-Glucan which is known to increase feelings of satiation, increase growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract as well as reduce cholesterol levels. There are so many fantastic ways of incorporating oats into your diet – in smoothies, in baked goods, in the form of overnight oats, granola and even toasted with some spices for a savory sprinkle on salads for a nice textural addition instead of the classic crouton.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have been. Feel free to give any tips, suggestions or additions to this recipe if you’ve tried it J I’m a huge advocate for sharing my own ideas, opinions & creations as well as receiving suggestions and input from you!