Healthy Breakast Tips: Overnight oats are a popular breakfast item, and their health benefits are manifold. But should you prefer overnight oats to regular oats? Here's what we think.
Breakast: Overnight oats can be better than regular oats in many ways.
Highlights
Overnight oats are soaked in milk, water or yogurt to soak overnight
They may offer more nutritional benefits than regular oats
Here are some reasons to try overnight oats
Overnight oats has become a growing breakfast trend all across the world. From Bollywood celebrities to food bloggers, everyone swears by their humble bowl of overnight oats. This recipe has become a widely popular dish for breakfast due to many reasons. The health benefits of overnight oats cannot be emphasised enough. Further, the overnight oats can be customised with fruit, seeds or some of your favourite spreads and jams. The fact that you wake up to a ready meal for breakfast is definitely an added bonus. But does overnight oats offer more benefits than regular, cooked oats? We say yes!
Firstly, one clear difference arises in the kind of oats that are used in both the recipes. A regular bowl of oats usually uses instant oats which are heavily-processed and packaged for longer usage, while the kind of oats recommended for overnight oats are the rolled ones which are more raw in nature. The rule of thumb is that the more processed the oats are, the less nutritious they will be - which makes overnight oats an obvious choice. Overnight oats offer a range of health benefits, due to their rich fibre and protein content. They also contain a number of vitamins and minerals, some of which include manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. This makes overnight oats healthy for your gut, as well as for overall health and well-being.
(Also Read:Oats Porridge: Four Exciting Recipes to Spruce Up Your Breakfast)
Overnight oats can be paired with fruits, syrups, seeds and jams.
Another argument is that overnight oats are left to soak overnight, which means their nutritional content stays intact vis-a-vis their cooked counterparts which are simmered on a stove. The process of preparing oats by putting them on heat is generally considered less healthy for oats, as compared to a slow-cooking process by soaking them over a long duration. This allows oatmeal to swell up and seep the liquid in their every pore thus making them a wholesome and satiating breakfast meal by itself.
The bottom line is that overnight oats are better than regular oats nutritionally and even otherwise. But what about taste? Some people say that soaking oats overnight gives them a chewy texture which makes breakfast more fun versus regular oats which taste more like porridge. As for the variations to rolled oats, there are endless permutations and combinations that can be made with the oats. It is important to not add too many sugary ingredients to the oats so that their health benefits are not outweighed by the sugar or calorific content. The simple way to make overnight oats is to soak oats in a bowl with milk, curd or water and let them hydrate overnight.
Here are some interesting recipes to try with overnight oats instead of regular oats:
- Bircher Muesli With Muffins
- Oatmeal Dalia
- Oatmeal, Yogurt And Fruit Breakfast Medley
- Oats And Chicken Porridge
- Banana And Almond Porridge
- Oats And Yogurt Porridge Parfait
(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)
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About Aditi AhujaAditi loves talking to and meeting like-minded foodies (especially the kind who like veg momos). Plus points if you get her bad jokes and sitcom references, or if you recommend a new place to eat at.
