If you follow my Instagram story, you would see that one of my favorite and healthy breakfast recipes is Overnight Oatmeal! Since so many of you were curious about the recipe, I’m going to write an overdue recipe post and show you how to make it!
Before I tell you the recipe, let’s play a little game here. Look through these pictures and tell me what is the most common ingredient that you see here. *Also, if you guys would like the recipes for these, let me know :)*
If you guess dairy, then you got it right! I pretty much consume dairy on a daily basis. It is a great, dense source of many essential nutrients, and because it’s available in a variety of forms like milk,yogurt and cheese, it can fit into pretty much any healthy diet.
But Anh, aren’t you lactose intolerant?!
Yes I am! But let me clarify, my level of tolerance to lactose vary on the dairy product. I cannot drink milk but I’m able to eat cheese and yogurt – which has less lactose than milk – without having to run to the bathroom. There are other options such as nut milk, but let me ask you, have you tried a latte with soy or almond milk? I find the pairing of coffee with alternatives like almond milk to not be very complimentary and takes away from the coffee flavour.
Ok ok, so I’m lactose-intolerant too, what dairy product brand do you like then?
For milk, it would be Natrel. iögo for yogurt and OKA for cheese*, and these are all owned by Agropur, which can be found in any grocery stores.
*Note: For cheese, I find that most semi-hard/aged cheeses have so little lactose that I don’t have a problem with them, so look for the OKA cheese in the picture below if you are lactose-intolerant.
Just a little bit of background on the company, Agropur is Canada’s largest dairy cooperative ($6B+ sales)) with over 3,290 dairy farmers who have joined forces to process and market the high-quality milk they produce on their farms. When you purchase products from the company, you’re choosing to contribute to the Canadian economy and supporting over 13,000 Canadian families who are passionate about fueling the economies of their town. For more information on their cooperative, check out www.agropurpride.com/pride.
One of my most favourite brands from Agropur is their Natrel lactose-free dairy products which I have a very fond memory of. Growing up in Vietnam, I drank milk on a daily basis with no issue. However when I was around 10 years old, I started experiencing terrible cramps, and back then we didn’t have lactose-free milk in Vietnam other than soy milk. My parents and doctors were unable to pinpoint what was the culprit and little Anh suffered.
Fast forward to when I came to Canada, luckily my new doctor confirmed I was lactose intolerant, and he instructed me to purchase any products that had the word “lactose-free” on the label. I quickly went to the nearest grocery store and picked up a bottle of Natrel milk since it was the prettiest (lol) and clearly labeled as lactose-free.
Gotcha! Now share this breakfast oatmeal recipe!
If you follow my Instagram stories, you’ll see that Overnight Oatmeal is one of my most favourite (and healthy) breakfast choices!
What is overnight oatmeal you may ask?
Basically instead of cooking oatmeal and milk, you leave them refrigerated overnight and allow them to become soft and creamy. The key is to keep them chilled for at least 4-5 hours (overnight is the simplest way – hence the name!). When it’s ready, you can top them up with fresh fruits, nuts, coconut, almond butter or anything your heart desires. For those with a hectic morning and want something simple and healthy, overnight oats make the perfect breakfast!
Does it involve a lot of fancy ingredients?
Not at all! These use simple ingredients and no fancy preparation is required here. Note that I used iögo Greek Yogurt (the blue pouch) here which contains lactose. Though there is no lactose-free Greek yogurt, you can actually get iögo Probio Immuni-T (green container in the above picture) for a completely lactose-free recipe!
