Barb Hodgens
Barb Hodgens

Barb Hodgens loves to cook with alternative, healthy whole food ingredients, with a focus on gut health. Barb has overcome her own gut health issues through healthy eating. Share your ideas, comments and photos at the end of this post :)

Fig and strawberry overnight oats

A gut-loving healthy grab-and-go breakfast.

If you crave tummy filling, comforting carbs in the mornings, you can’t go past these fig and strawberry yogurt overnight oat jars. They’re gut-loving, seriously delicious, and so easy to make. Overnight oats are a great way to save you time in the mornings and ensure you have a nutritious breakfast even when you’re on the run or busy!

It’s well known that oats are one of the healthiest breakfast options around. They’re a great source of fibre, trace minerals and even plant-based protein. They’re also a slow-releasing carbohydrate, that will keep your blood sugar in check, maintain your energy and keep you full for longer. Oats are also a prebiotic - food for bacteria in the gut. That’s why, it’s always a good idea to enjoy your oats with serving of homemade probiotic yogurt. Oats are a probiotic booster!

fig and strawberry overnight oats

If you’ve never had overnight oats before, they’re basically a no-cook method of making porridge. Instead of cooking oats with liquid on the stovetop to become soft, you soak them. The soaking process allows the oats to absorb liquid and soften. The next morning, you have a pudding-like, cold porridge that is perfect for easy, grab-and-go breakfasts. Adding homemade yogurt and fruity mix-ins to the soaking liquid makes overnight oat jars taste, oh so delicious.

The amount of liquid is key to the final consistency. You can switch up the liquid ingredients to suit your dietary preferences. Homemade almond milk, oat milk or coconut milk are delicious plant-based milk alternatives. Additionally, any type of homemade yogurt, dairy or plant-based can be used. You’ll just luv how homemade yogurt makes overnight oats extra thick and creamy and extra pudding-like. Oats and chia seeds sponge liquid up – so, if you have runny yogurt left in your jar or too much whey in the fridge, add these in place of milk and get even more probiotics in the jar!

fig and strawberry overnight oats

The process for making overnight oats is really one of the simplest meal-preps you can do. If you don’t have fresh figs – feel free to use additional strawberries. For breaky-prep in advance, you can easily double the ingredients and have enough jars to last all week.

Makes 2 jars

INGREDIENTS

Strawberry Chia Jam
¾ cup of chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)

2 teaspoons of chia seeds
1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup (optional)

Oat mixture
1 cup of oats*
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
¾ cup of homemade yogurt
1 cup of milk or milk alternative of your choice
1 – 2 teaspoons of raw honey or maple syrup
2 figs finely chopped + extra for on top

* We make overnight oats with old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats can go too mushy and steel cut oats stay a bit too chewy. Choose certified gluten-free oats if you like.

METHOD

Strawberry Chia Jam
1.   Chop the strawberries and place in a small saucepan with the water.
2.   Simmer on a low heat with the lid on for 5 minutes.
3.   Remove from the stove and add the chia seeds and honey. Stir to combine and then set aside for 10 minutes to thicken and cool.
4.   Add 2 teaspoons of chia jam into the base of each jar. Reserve the rest for the top.

Oat mixture method
5.   Combine all the oat ingredients in a bowl and stir thoroughly to incorporate.
6.   Divide the mixture between two jars.
7.   Tap the jars on the benchtop to release any pockets of air.
8.   Spoon the remaining chia jam on top
9.   Seal with lids on the jars then transfer to the fridge for 6-8 hours – overnight is ideal.
10. Top with sliced fig and or strawberries then enjoy.
11. Oat jars will last for up to 5 days in the fridge.

You might also like to try these blueberry, buckwheat and yogurt breakfast jars.

PIN THIS RECIPE

Fig and strawberry overnight oats

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