Healthy Bites: Cookie Dough Overnight Oats

Two healthy recipe posts in a row? Uh oh! You might be able to tell, but I've been majorly focused on my personal training, and wellness business in the works. Yes, you read that right. This is MY YEAR, and I am the one calling the shots. So I've been training, creating, and pushing myself past limits that I thought were set too high for me to reach. It's funny how we are always looking at others and saying, "well I can't do that," instead of saying "why can't I?" YOU CAN! I tell my kickboxing class all the time, you are capable of more than you think you can do! It's just a matter of pushing past our thoughts, and going for it.

I've been testing some healthy recipes out in the kitchen. I'm always one to follow a recipe, but once you have the basics down, you can pretty much mix and match ingredients to really make something new and delicious. I'm a huge fan of cookie dough, and if I could eat cookie dough ice cream every night before bed without it affecting me, I would. So I figured what's better than going to sleep, waking up, and eating cookie dough? Few things come to mind. So I've perfected that sweet cookie dough taste in overnight oats!

Cookie Dough Overnight Oats [1 serving]

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 tbsp plain or vanilla greek yogurt
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
splash of maple syrup
pinch of salt

2 tbsp chocolate chips/cocoa nibs

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in mason jar, except for chocolate chips and shake well.

2. Place in refrigerator overnight.

3. Add in chocolate the next morning; mix in and sprinkle on top! You can leave it out to get room temperature, or enjoy right out of the fridge!

4. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

Healthy Bites: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Overnight Oats

I've been challenging myself to make more recipes from my Tone It Up nutrition plan. I've had the plan for awhile now, but I haven't made too many of the recipes... mainly because they require a lot of ingredients that I just don't buy. I'm determined to try more healthy recipes out though, so I have more meals to choose from, and ultimately more meals to make my belly happy. While I enjoy routine meals, and don't mind having the same thing every day, it's nice to change it up once in awhile and find new meals that I enjoy. 

The other day I tried out the Overnight Oats. I had never made them before, so I was interested to see if I'd even enjoy them. I wasn't a huge fan of oatmeal a couple of years ago, and now it's a staple in my cabinet for breakfast. I figured overnight oats wouldn't be much different, but oh I was so wrong. Overnight oats are delicious, and are a combination between cereal and oatmeal... at least to me. So when the recipe was a hit in my books, I took it upon myself to wander on Pinterest for yet another overnight oat recipe. If you know me, you know I LOVE all things cookie dough, so I found a cookie dough overnight oat recipe. However, I didn't have the one ingredient that probably makes it taste like cookie dough (nut extract), and so I ended up throwing a bunch of ingredients together, and it came out tasting like chocolate chip banana bread. 

I don't usually create recipes on my own, mainly because if it turns out bad, I just wasted a TON of ingredients, and there goes my money down the trash. I tested my limits though, all the while thinking I couldn't make these taste bad, not with all the tasty ingredients I was adding. So here you have it... 

Let me know if you make the overnight oats and how they turn out! 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1 cup oats

1 cup unsweetened original almond milk

1/2 ripe banana

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp PB2

Splash of maple syrup 

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

2 tbsp chocolate chips 

Directions:

1. Place banana in a bowl in microwave for 30 seconds. Mash banana. 

2. Mix all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) in mason jar & shake it really well (with lid on).

3. Place in refrigerator overnight. 

4. Add chocolate chips the next morning; mix in & sprinkle on top! (Let it sit out to get room temperature if you'd like).

5. Dig in with a spoon and enjoy!