Overnight oats: how to prepare them healthy?

Oatmeal is cooked. But overnight oats are not. But they are a healthy breakfast food. Dietitians share their ideas on how to prepare the oats overnight for a healthy first meal of the day.

Overnight oats

Overnight oats are not cooked. But in this, rolled oats is placed in a container or bowl with a liquid that you like. It may be plain water or milk. And the milk could be the dairy milk or plant based milk. The latter is good for weight loss.

Rolled oats are lightly processed food item. They are a whole grain food and made from oat groats that are dehusked before getting steamed. Subsequently, they are converted into flat flakes by means of heavy rollers and then lightly toasted. Thus, they are pre cooked needing no further cooking.

After the overnight soaking of the oats, one can enjoy them as the morning meal. It is rich in resistant starch. This implies that it will not get digested and is thus a prebiotic. The gut bacteria act on it and ferment it. This produces short chain fatty acids that are healthy for the gut. Moreover, with it gut microbiome also improves.

Addition of bananas, ginger and chia seeds can enhance it’s nutritional value, say nutrition experts. These add healthy fats and fiber to the meal.

Bananas

Nutrition therapist, Jenny Fontana says:

“We all associate bananas with potassium which is very important, but bananas are amazing for our gut health because of their fantastic prebiotic benefits,”

She elaborates:

“You need to feed your probiotic bacteria, so they will flourish and you will have a happy gut,“

They are prebiotics and these reduce bloating. Moreover, they have high vitamin B6 that boosts immunity.

Ginger

Ginger is a rhizome and used as a spice in foods. This ingredient is good for gut as well as immunity. Trista Best from Balance One Supplements states:

“Ginger helps to bring balance to the gut and thereby reducing bloating, nausea, and gas,”

Ginger boosts metabolism and decreases secretions such as phlegm. It is good for the throat and lessens cough.

Chia seeds

Also, read Quick oats, steel-cut oats, and rolled oats: which is healthier?

Nutritionist Lisa Richards, creator of Candida diet is all in favor of addition of chia seeds to oats. She explains:

“Chia seeds are a nutrient-dense, complete protein, and whole grain that can be easily integrated into most dietary patterns,”

Further, Lisa adds:

“It is an especially helpful grain for those who follow a plant-based diet, as they provide all essential amino acids in one food.”

As regards the fat in the seeds, she says:

“They have healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids, a highly anti-inflammatory fat, which makes them ideal for heart health as well.”

“They are versatile and pack a lot of nutrition into a small package.”

Lisa adds that the proteins of oats and chia seeds keep you full longer. So you will not overeat and this will help in weight management.