Cherry Mocha Overnight Oats

Breakfast is always one of those meals that escapes people. There is never quite enough time in the morning no matter if you are young, old, have kids, dogs or just yourself to get out the door. I literally get asked at least once a day, “What should I eat for breakfast?” My sassy comment is always “food.” However, I am well aware that people want more specific food and recipe recommendations and I get it.

We live in a culture where breakfast is supposed to be cereal and milk, lunch is supposed to be a sandwich with chips, and dinner is, of course, steak and potatoes or pizza. We leave no room for interpretation and get weird looks and judged hard when we stray from the norm. I am giving you the freedom today to eat any meal at any time during the day. Whoa, whoa, whoa loopholers I did NOT say you could eat pizza all day every day. What I mean is that food is food and should be eaten when hungry to nourish you. Salmon and broccoli for breakfast? Go ahead! Oatmeal and eggs for dinner? Of course, go for it! Steak and potatoes for lunch? Why in the world not!

[bctt tweet=”Food is food and should be eaten when hungry to nourish you. “]

Sometimes I also get bored with meals, and that is okay. I make a conscious effort to change things up so I can make sure every meal is clean and delicious. This time I decided to try including more oatmeal, thanks to the recommendations of an old RD friend. I make sure to buy gluten free oats as some are processed in facilities that also process wheat, so be careful and look at those labels friends that have more sensitive guts.

I also love anything coffee flavored, which is shocking considering I thought coffee was gross up until grad school, thank you late nights and early mornings for that! So why not put oats and coffee together? I encourage eating them while drinking your coffee, double dose of deliciousness (try and say that 5 times fast.)

This recipe has some key DELICIOUS real food ingredients:

Oats
Chia Seeds
100 % dark cocoa powder
Tart Cherries

This 1-2-3-4 punch is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties to start your day off right or heck maybe as a nice night cap, you decide. Eating real food is the only way to keep your body in tip top shape, do yourself a favor and add this snack or breakfast to your repertoire. The nice thing about this overnight oats recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and double or triple the recipe so you can have breakfast and/or snacks ready for the whole family for the week (yes, you should indeed share). I made mine in individual glass jars so I could just grab and go each serving. You can certainly make it all in one serving but I personally love my little glass jars and they make nice gifts!

I added cherries as a bit of tartness and sweetness and because tart cherry juice has been shown to help with athletic performance and recovery, so it can’t hurt, right? Feel free to top with your choice of toppings including: unsweetened coconut flakes, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate chunks, and more.

Enjoy!