People like to ask questions about morning routines. It’s a source of endless fascination. I’ve been asked that question so many times: what’s your morning routine? They seem to be expecting an inspiring answer. I hate to disappoint. I end up saying something about not being a morning person. Or maybe I describe my idyllic morning, the morning routine I wish I had. And this was all before I had a baby. I love the idea of mornings, but they don’t love me. The reality is this: I don’t have a morning routine and never have. I sleep as long as humanly possible. Which is why overnight oats & a glass of milk are my friend—not just because they’re a New Year’s resolution friendly dose of morning protein, nutrients, and a great superfood vehicle. But that too.
While Eula’s current routine & breakfast milk of choice is breastmilk, when she is weaned in a couple of years, these overnight oats & milk will be one of the kid friendly, nutritious breakfasts I try for her to start our days. A good breakfast choice in the morning tends to lead me to better choices throughout the day, and we’re hoping to start her on good habits early (as opposed to, say, the pop tarts of my childhood….)
As for me, my “routine” is as follows: sometimes I drink coffee, sometimes I drink tea, sometimes neither, and sometimes I whimper for my husband to bring me home a cappuccino and then forget it exists, leaving it to get cold on the bedside table/edge of the bath/kitchen counter/coffee table/wherever it finds me. Infrequently, I make the bed. I love to lay in the bath all morning, but that’s highly impractical. Sometimes I’ll do crunches or lunges if I’m feeling really ambitious, also infrequently. I like to cook breakfast, but only if the kitchen is immaculate when I wake up (which it often isn’t). I don’t like coffee shops in the morning ever though I sometimes like Southern diners & the odd Italian café. I prefer a light breakfast to a heavy breakfast but if you put buttermilk biscuits & gravy within smelling distance I will be powerless to not eat it.
Oftentimes the first thing I do in the morning is check my email on my phone before I even sit up. I do this to calm my anxiety. Or to create enough anxiety that I’m not sleepy anymore. I’m not sure which. It’s a terrible habit. The most routine thing about my mornings is that I sleep as long as possible & forgo every other morning nicety (if showers, exercise, coffee, and breakfast can be called “niceties”). I hit the ground running & get straight to work with my hair in a messy bun because I chose that extra hour of sleep over everything else that hour could have housed. Wait for it, wait for it…enter creamy overnight oats & milk! The busy (or in my case busy & sleepy) woman’s answer to breakfast.
Night owls rejoice! Now you can fling some bee pollen, goji berries, sundry seeds, coconut flakes, and superfood-what-have-you on a bowl of porridge, pour yourself a glass of milk, and have a legitimate, protein rich breakfast without doing anything more than waking up. This is particularly handy for not just night owls but for a) people who want to eat well in the morning (everyone, yes?) b) people with children who even if they’re far better than I at mornings get pounced on with more needs than one woman can juggle and c) people on the go that need something they can take with them. They also happen to be highly portable (good for sleepy children that need to eat in the car on the way to school as well).
So here’s the thing with overnight oats: soaking the oats enhances their digestibility. Which means it enhances your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients therein. Top with superfood bits (I like goji berries, bee pollen, and hemp seed personally) & other goodies (toasted coconut & honey for me, sometimes a dash of cinnamon) and pair with a glass of milk and you have a good food choice that leads to an upward spiral. An 8 ounce glass of milk provides 8 grams of protein, plus other nutrients, and starting the day with milk’s protein sets my day on the right foot. A protein rich breakfast & glass of milk is one of the few things that keeps me from getting into snack mode an hour after breakfast.
Bottom line: I was already eating cereal with milk in the morning because I was already in a hurry, especially since the baby. This is better. Protein in the morning is important for both children & adults, so pairing this with milk’s high-quality protein gets you far closer to the 25-30 grams of protein many experts recommend you get before noon. With 9 essential nutrients in each glass, milk is a simple, delicious—my blog was named after milk when I was sitting at home drinking a glass of milk & just blown away by the particular sweetness & sheer pleasure of that local glass—and wholesome way to give your kids a natural source of protein. Milk has long been a staple in my household, and isn’t going anywhere any time soon. We also use it to make yogurt, ricotta, homemade butter—you name it. So here’s to mornings, whether your idea of morning is burying a head under your pillow because you were up in the ambient glow of a screen as your brain buzzed all evening or if you’re a veritable bird from a Disney movie in the morning. Like my husband. And thank goodness for those people (because he takes the awake baby, or as we say “awaby” to the next room & lets me steal a bit more sleep!)
Also! You can use #MyMorningProtein on instagram to share your own families’ morning protein routine and enter the My Morning Protein contest to win a year of free milk.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup goji berries (plus extra for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons of honey or date paste (just mashed up dates)
- 1/2 teaspoon of flaky salt
- bee pollen
- fresh fruit
- honey
- toasted coconut flakes
- goji berries
- hemp seeds (or other seeds & nuts, love hazelnut here too!)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the oats, milk, goji berries, honey or dates, and salt. Stir well to combine. Put in two separate jars or one big one—I like weck & le parfait jars for this—and refrigerate over night or for at least 6 hours.
- Remove from the fridge, give a good stir, and top with the superfood goodies of your choice! If you'd like to heat it up, you certainly can! Just add the toppings after you've gently warmed the oats.
This recipe was brought to you by @milklife; all opinions & milk love are, as per usual, my own.
Hi Beth, I just love your blog and your wonderful sense of humor and honesty. I also love the beautiful scarves you wear on your head. Could you please share how you put them on and where you get them? Than you, Ann
If you want to throw your readers a bone, perhaps you could tell them about Matt’s morning routine, at least he has one! Hope you’re having a memorable time over there. We miss you.
At first I was like “who’s this asshole?!” and then I was like “oh. hi dad.” 🙂
ps. miss you guys too! can’t wait for you to see Eula again!
My 6 month old also enjoys overnight oats. I’ll mix one tablespoon of ground old fashioned rolled oats with 3 tablespoons of water. The following morning I’ll gently warm, remove from heat source, and add enough breastmilk to get the consistency I want. Then I’ll top it with some homemade applesauce and puréed butternut squash or banana sautéed in a teaspoon of butter.
This sounds so delicious, I love overnight oats 🙂
Rachael xx.
theteacozykitchen.blogspot.co.uk
I’ve been meaning to make overnight oats for quite some time but still haven’t gotten round to it. I don’ t even know why! 🙂 Looove your photos, your kitchen with all those cool looking bowls, plates, jars,… Btw, your baby looks so adorable! 🙂
Please can you do a tiny blog on how you tie that scarf / wrap in your hair and make it look so GREAT?! I’m 48, still can’t get that look to look right! Thank you. x
This looks incredible! Never used bee pollen in my oats before but it’s such a lovely idea.
daydreamdancing
I make overnight oats as well. It’s low glycemic and I use light cream instead of milk to reduce sugar. A glass of milk has 12g of sugar.
If one glass of milk is only 9g of protein how are you getting the remaining 16-21 g or protein you stated is recommended before lunch?
The overnight oats (one serving) + glass of milk have approx 20 grams of protein (6 for oats, 6 for milk in oats, 8 for glass of milk!) : ) The additional 5 grams can come from virtually anything like a handful of almonds.
Highly appreciate your honesty …. and yes, your art is amazing ! Again 🙂
Nice post. Definitely better than cereal 🙂
Such beautiful photos- and I can’t wait to try the recipe. I’ve never made anything with date paste before- but it’s so simple!
xo
Phyllis
http://desgeulasse.com/
What is the fascination with morning routines? Don’t people know that once you have kiddos and other people to care for, there is no such thing as a morning routine? Ha! I’m mostly teasing;) But, I can relate. And I love overnight oats. In my opinion, they are better than traditional hot oatmeal because it can be made in BIG batches that last for a couple of days in the refrigerator. I have never used a date paste in my oats, but love the flavor dates add! Will have to try that!
Hi Lovely Beth. I have never commented but have passionately followed your blog from your beginnings. Oats, oats, oats–anything with oats will be voraciously consumed by my Celiac and numerous other autoimmune disease-infested household; so this is on the menu for breakfast! Love your recipes, photos, and writings. ❤
I love reading about other people’s morning routines, it simply fascinates me, maybe because my own is such chaos. Thank you for sharing it and the recipe, I’ll definitely try it.
I stumbled on to your blog through tumblr!! And that I am in love with is an understatement. I have spent the last 45 mins reading your posts!! Love them and will come back for more 🙂
your photos and blog are like nothing else i’ve ever seen! so so so incredible!!! i can spend hours here – thank you for sharing it all with us.
xoxo
Lourdes
http://plsdotell.com/2017/02/05/empower-girls-with-your-period/
Your pictures are gorgeous! I love how you mentioned you are not a morning person, because I am not one either. This article is perfect for people like us! I have never tried overnight oats but I’m definitely going to now!
Check out my first blog post on my website!
http://fortheloveofbread.weebly.com
Cheers!
I was nodding my head and ‘yes-ing’ out loud to this whole post. I too love the idea of a morning routine but alas am not a person who sticks to routine well. Some days are for coffee, some for warm water and lemon, some come with exercise, most with meditation…and some show up as a piece of leftover apple pie eaten in the bathtub 😉 I say to honor your mornings, however they should show up!
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
Scrolling through your blog looking for some cooking/styling inspo and as always, you never disappoint! Love this idea xx
https://cadyquotidienne.com/
Beautiful photos as always, and this story really spoke to me – I laughed out loud in recognition of the whimpering at husband to go get a cappucino! Hang in there with the little one – it gets easier!
Thanks for the nod to the night owls.
As one myself I have been baffled by the profuse amount of early morning insanely huge meals and baking adventures I have been seeing on social media.
Is it just me? or is there a huge focus on breakfasts lately?
Waffles and pancakes and eggs and TOAST and do not get me started on the prolific amounts of smoothie bowls that have as many colors as a box of crayons spilled in a bowl! with things decorated on top and fruit cut into shapes and….stop it!
Give me a pre-made (by me, the night before) little breakfast like protein bars and , well, overnight oats, and a huge mug of coffee and don’t talk to me until noon and all will be well.
Hi Beth, this looks incredible. I’m really a big fan of those beautifull photo’s. Wish I’d have the same talent.
Same morning routine. Do you feel as guilty about it as I do!?
I’ll have to try this recipe out. I’ve never been a good cook but this seems doable, especially since I usually don’t want to step foot in the kitchen in the morning. I just rush right past it to the dining table and my laptop! It’s good to know I’m not alone in dreading the morning.