Overnight Oats with Papaya

by René Bonzet

My overnight oats with papaya is a great tasting, healthy, make-ahead breakfast dish, perfect for a working mom or busy mornings. It consists of layers of delicious, creamy oats, bite size pieces of papaya, my favourite vanilla yoghurt and topped with crunchy sweet dukkah. This recipe does not take more that 5-10 minutes to prepare. It can even be made dairy-free by using coconut yoghurt or almond milk. My preference is old fashion oats but rolled oats or steel cut oats may also be used. The sky is the limit with what you can serve in and on the oats. We have it cold, but many people prefer the oats warm, which is also good.

Ingredients:

125 ml oats

2,5 ml chia seeds

pinch salt and cinnamon

75 ml Greek yoghurt

2,5 ml vanilla extract

2-3 drops almond essence

30 ml honey (depending on how sweet you prefer)

100 -150 ml almond milk or milk (depending on the texture you prefer, thick or more to runny side)

Approximately 200 ml papaya, cut into bite size portions
100 ml more or less yoghurt of own choice

Dukkah*

Method:

Combine oats, seeds, salt and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.

Stir in yoghurt, vanilla, almond essence and honey.

Add enough milk for the desired consistency.

Pour into a container or glass jar with a lid and store in refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, top the oats with papaya, yoghurt and dukkah. Some people prefer more honey on top.

Serve immediately. (1 serving)

*Mock sweet dukkah
Stir-fry 125 ml each coarsely chopped walnuts/pecan nuts and almonds, 100 ml coarsely chopped sunflower seeds, 30 g coconut flakes and 10 ml poppy seeds, slightly grinded to release unique flavouring in 5 ml olive oil. Add 2 1⁄2 ml ground cinnamon, 15 ml honey/brown sugar and stir-fry until nuts turn light brown. Allow to cool completely.