I grew up in Africa and my mom taught me to make oats by cooking them. We would either cook our oats in milk or cook it with water and simply topped it with some warm milk and strawberries. So, the concept of overnight oats was really foreign to me. I felt, someone, left their oats out, forgot to eat it, and now it’s a recipe. Like the invention of penicillin. My personal favourite was quaker oats.
I slowly bought into the idea of rolled oats when I started whole-fooding after moving to Europe in 2013. Rolled oats are simply a lightly processed whole-grain version of regular oats. They are literally ‘rolled’ into flat flakes and lightly toasted. I tried both and struggled to see the difference in taste (maybe it’s me) but I was definitely sold on the health benefits of it.
Overnight oats are good for controlling body cholesterol and body weight. Overnight soaked oats are also high in fibre contents which keeps you fuller for a longer period of time. Health experts claim that overnight oats (made with rolled oats especially) also help in reducing bad cholesterol in the body and increasing the good cholesterol.
Overnight oat is the hottest trend on the food scene and is being marketed as a weight-loss assistant and a healthier alternative to its cooked or baked counterparts. Health experts claim that ‘overnight soaking’ breaks down the starch present in oats and lets them absorb more nutrients. Also, the acid in the ‘broken down starched’ oats assists better digestion, increases insulin in the body and therefore regulate type 2 diabetes. Wow!!! What an ambitious oat recipe!!
So I decided to add this delicious oatly mixed berries overnight oats recipe to my recipe bank. I know it is different, it is my first time too, but I promise you it is very delicious!! I used a lot of berries and cherries because I was going for a summer version of things (at the time of writing this post). Plus, I actually love the combination of all berries in a smoothie but not anyone individually.
