I pretty much eat the same breakfast every day: these high protein chia seed oats. They do take a bit of time to heat through, but I’ll often use that time to ground down and prep for my morning meetings, lift weights, journal, or (most of the time) just stare off into space. In my opinion, they are worth the wait since they’re incredibly filling and also a good amount of protein (15 grams) to start the day.
If you’d like to sweeten these high protein chia seed oats a bit, feel free to add a sliced banana or blueberries, or even add some walnuts for a little crunch and Omega-3s! I still mostly follow an Ayurvedic diet, which means I don’t often combine fruit with my meals due to the digestion speed of fruits versus other foods, so I omit bananas these days, but they do make for a nice topping.
And yes, I even eat my high protein chia seed oats in the heat of the summer. I know it’s hot out there, but once you start eating these, you won’t want to go back to smoothies, acai bowls, or even avocado or nut butter toasts. None of those have the same effect on your digestion as a warm bowl of oats. There’s just no better way to start your day!
I hope you give them a try. They’re a solid breakfast to slow down for, and don’t we all need to slow down a little more? I know I sure do. Every year, there are more and more articles about the impact that distractions have on us, and every year, more distractions enter into our lives. I try as much as possible to stay off social media and the news; thankfully I’m only on Facebook which yes is the worst, but it’s only place I stay connected to old friends. And also, starting my day with the daily post from Heather Cox Richardson and Heather Delaney Reese is most definitely a great way to begin each day, even as devastating as the articles often are (I follow both of them on FB).
The other worst distraction though is the constant influx of work notifications: email, project management, and Slack. And even text from various clients from time to time, too. It’s too much! Are you balancing (or trying to) all of this, too? I fear that it’s going to get so much worse as time goes on. I’ve attempted to block off time each day without any work distractions, but even that is so hard. Which makes waking up early, having my time for fitness, walking my dogs, and journaling truly the most important part of my day. Which is also why these high protein chia seed oats are pretty essential for me. They force me to slow down, to stay with one thing at a time, to encourage my mind to rest or deeply focus.
When I rush through the morning with a peanut butter toast (my other go-to breakfast), I don’t get the time to chill. I am forced to move quickly, and that makes everything feel so much worse. My day starts harried and I never truly get it back on track. High protein chia seed oats keep me grounded. And they might for you, too!
What else keeps you grounded each day? Touching grass? Meditating? Journaling? Jogging? Have you found your thing? It’s hard to find what works for you (at least it has been for me). But the closer we get to adding that thing to our daily routine, the better off we’ll be. And maybe, the better off our world will be, too. If we’re more focused, our conversations will be more focused, and we’ll have a little more clarity throughout our day. I wish that for each of us. This heavily distractible world is too much. It’s worth it to slow down. I hope you’re able to!
With love,
Jen
On to the recipe: High Protein Chia Seed Oats
High Protein Chia Seed Oats
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons hemp seeds
- 3-4 teaspoons almond or peanut butter
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan, combine the oats and water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the almond milk, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Turn up the heat a bit so the milk heats through, and cook for 5-6 more minutes. The oats will look very soupy at this point, but the chia seeds expand (and the nut butters thicken the oats, too).
- Once the oats are warm and the chia seeds have expanded, add the nut butter, stirring well.
- If the oats have thickened too much, add a little more milk or water and heat through. Otherwise, remove from heat, and enjoy!