Pumpkin Overnight Oats

When I started training for my very first Bikini bodybuilding competition (more to come on this experience) I felt a bit lost.  I had always tried to eat healthy and had a decent working knowledge of good carbs, proteins and fats.  I was not, however, very good at cooking and HATED trying to follow a recipe.  For some reason following a recipe brought back images of being in my college chemistry labs where you had to follow directions implicitly, checking and rechecking what you were doing so you didn’t mess anything up.  Recipes felt that same to me and, admittedly, gave me some anxiety, worrying I was going to screw up and ruin the whole meal!  Not only were recipes my nemesis, but even worse than that is I had no idea how to just “put something together”.  You know the type…they can waltz into a kitchen like they were on a reality TV show given only certain ingredients and could “whip up” something amazing and delicious.  Yeah…I didn’t get that gene.  I learned from my mother who, although has many strengths, cooking was NOT one of them.  She was a casserole, meatloaf, sloppy joe kind of women and her idea of providing a vegetable for the meal was slicing up a tomato to have on the side.

I have improved significantly in my cooking skills and no longer fear recipes or just trying something and seeing what happens.  However, I wanted to explain all of this so it would make sense when I tell you that I am super proud of this Pumpkin Overnight Oats concoction.  I had no idea what I was doing and looked up a couple other recipe ideas then took a little from this and a little from that and then my very first Pre-Workout recipe was born!  I made this specifically for my carb to protein ratio that I needed (per my prep coach) to have before my workouts.  I absolutely LOVE this and would have it even if I wasn’t going to workout.  It is a great breakfast on the go or mid morning snack. Very low in fat but high in taste!

My pride and joy…so delicious! 😉

I mean it when I say if I can make this then so can you!  Here is a description of the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup oats

1 scoop (~12g) of vanilla protein powder (I use Advocare Muscle Gain)

3 tbsp pumpkin purée

3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

dash of salt

Macro Breakdown:

Total calories = 305

Carbs = 38

Protein = 30

Fat = 5

 

(greek yogurt, oats, and pumpkin purée)

(added protein powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg)

I mix these all together in one bowl (usually in a round tupperware container for easy fridge storage and to keep fresh… I make several in a row to prep for the week).  Set in the fridge over night …And you are DONE!  Told you it was easy 😉  Makes for a perfect quick morning meal before heading to work or the gym.

Enjoy this delicious little treat and comment below on any variations that you like to make.  Happy eating!