The Cascade Kitchen is a student-run food column that brings you budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips. Check back bi-weekly for something new to try in the kitchen or consider contributing a recipe of your own! If you’ve ever wanted to share a favourite dish or see your name in print, get started by reaching out to cassie@ufvcascade.ca.
It’s unfortunate that what seems like the majority of the North American population is terrified of carbs these days because oats are an absolute winner for any university student. Fear not: oats will make your life all the better while you maintain your jean size. A bowl of oatmeal has plenty of iron, zinc, and vitamin B to keep your energy levels up. They can be whipped up in minutes with just a pot over heat and water or milk, then made sweet or savoury. (Salt in oatmeal is a lovely thing.)
Overnight oats had their spotlight two years ago on Pinterest but I’m here to tell the students of UFV that it doesn’t have to be absent from your life even though avocado toast is all the rage. It’s the best way to have a quick and filling breakfast before scooting off to that dreaded 8:30 a.m. class.
Here’s the basic recipe for overnight oats. From here you can customize it to suit your preferences.
70 ml (1/3 cup) plain Greek yogurt
~125 ml (1/2 heaping cup) rolled oats
150 ml (2/3 cup) unsweetened milk of choice
15 ml (1 tbsp) chia seeds or ground flax meal
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
0-30 ml (0-2 tbsp) honey or maple syrup
Instructions:
Mix the ingredients in a bowl then place them in a jar or even a cup with plastic wrap over top for the night. When you wake up in the morning you’ll have a gooey and hearty serving of creamy, healthy-ass oatmeal.
To make banana chocolate chip oatmeal just add half of a mashed banana (or the whole thing if you want) to the basic recipe plus 30-45 ml (2-3 tbsps) chocolate chips. Easy peasy.
If you’re a peanut butter person, add 30 ml (2 tbsps) cocoa powder and 30 ml (2 tbsps) peanut butter to the basic recipe and bam: chocolate peanut butter oatmeal.
And if you’re feeling like all of those chemistry labs aren’t allowing your creative juices to flow enough, feel free to let this oatmeal be that replacement. Add strawberries and pineapple for a mental trip to Hawaii or shredded carrots and raisins for a carrot cake oatmeal. Or see how many different type of nuts and seeds you can mix in. Make it however you want.
And the best part is, you only need to wash one bowl after preparing the oatmeal. So you can blissfully go back to watching season three of The Office for the 12th time for the rest of the night knowing that your breakfast is already taken care of.
Image: Carissa Wiens/The Cascade
