For most workouts eating carbohydrates in the form of fruit, vegetables and whole-grains is really important because carbohydrates provide fuel for your body. It’s a personal choice of whether you like to work out fasted or not, however, here at The Cycle Jersey we don’t like to face our workouts on an empty stomach. If you are also like us then you will love an early morning workout which can make it difficult to eat in the morning and give yourself enough time between eating and working out. That’s why we tend to find ourselves reaching for overnight oats!

Overnight oats are high in carbohydrates which will give you a blood sugar boost and we have found that they settle in your stomach pretty quickly meaning you really only need around 30 minutes between eating and working out.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been trying out a couple of overnight oat recipes to try and widen our pre-workout options. After a few oat recipes that we just HATED we have narrowed it down to just the very best combinations so that you don’t have to go through the pre-workout disappointment of hating your pre-workout.

Nearly all overnight oat recipes start by simply adding your oats, milk and sweetener such as maple syrup, honey or sugar into a bowl or mason jar and then it’s up to you which toppings and flavorings you want to add. It’s really easy and takes no cooking at all so these oat ideas work great for eating on the go too!

Measurement Options:  

• 60g of oats to 100ml of your choice of milk and 100g of fat free Greek style yoghurt works well or

• 40g of oats to 150ml for your choice of milk if you would rather not use yoghurt.

If you love a breakfast that’s also dessert then the Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Oats might be best suited for you.

You want to start with the basic overnight oat measurements above before adding 1 tsp of cinnamon, ½ a tsp of coco powder and 2 tbsp of chocolate chips to the oat mixture. Give it a stir together before leaving covered in the fridge overnight. In the morning simply add a chopped banana to the top and enjoy!

These Peach Melba Overnight Oats from the BBC is also amazing which each serving providing 534 kcals, 26g Protein, 66g carbohydrate, 17g fat and 8g fiber. When making these you want to add some of the peach juice into your oats, cinnamon, sweetener, milk and yoghurt to give it a little bit more flavor before leaving the container in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you simply have to add the peaches, raspberries, almonds and a little water and your overnight oats will be ready to eat and seriously tasty!

Another recipe we love is from our friends over at Nairns! The Stewed Apple and Cinnamon Overnight Oats are like a hug in a mason jar in the morning. It's delicious!

This recipe does take a little bit more work than the others as you do need to peel, chop and stew your apples the night before but we think it's worth the extra hassle. For all the exact measurements and cooking time head on over to their blog as this recipe can be altered to be gluten free and suitable for vegans! 

All of the overnight oats recipes can be made using Nairns Oat range which are all gluten free and they have some already flavoured options that would work super well for overnight oats. We love the Nairns Oat Range! 

Andddd... there we have it! Our top favourite overnight oats recipes that took a good few weeks of searching, trying, hating, searching again and loving to find and share! Let us know if you try any of the recipes above and what you think!