More veggies, more problems.

Said no one ever, actually.

Growing up, I was never the type of child to refuse my veggies – I LOVED them. Every kind of vegetable my parents fed me, I swallowed whole-heartedly. I ate my greens like no other toddler on the block.

And well, some things never change. I still don’t know of any other toddler (or 21 year old) eating greens like the champ I am. [Thanks, Mom. You raised a good kid!] 

I’m a big fan of oats for breakfast, and being a creature of habit, I don’t plan to change that anytime soon. But lately, I’ve been craving a lot more veggies than usual, which I never thought could be possible. So naturally, I wanted to incorporate some into my favorite meal of the day. It was like a choir of angels singing when I opened up my fridge the other morning and saw my zucchinis staring back at me, cause right then and there I knew it was going to be the week of the ZOATS.

Zoats = oats + zucchini.

If you haven’t heard of zoats before, the idea is basically to add more volume to your oats to stretch them a bit further with the addition of grated zucchini – your oats puff up like no other! And you’re getting an extra dose of greens,  which is win-win situation in my book!

My original inspiration for zoats is from Amanda Clark herself over at her blog, Clark/Pharm. And that was a little over a year ago. Since then, I’ve whipped a tons of variations for myself – with other veggies as well. This week I tackled not only zoats, but oats with carrot shreds, and spinach.

I know, you’re probably thinking, spinach, in your oats? You’re one crazy lady.

And that I am – but take my word this time because this one is actually genius. I adapted the original recipe from Angela over at OhSheGlows – her Green Monster Overnight Oats. It’s basically like a green smoothie + oats, which is the best of both worlds. I may be bias because I love smoothies and oats, but oh my goodness, this was a good one.

There are several variations of zoats, carrot oats, and green overnight oats, but here are three variations I did this week:

Vanilla Coconut Zoats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup egg whites
1/4 cup oats
1 small-medium zucchini, [grated, chopped, or whichever way you prefer]
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 pack stevia

Combine 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup egg on medium heat on stovetop. After the mixture comes to a boil, add in oats, zucchini, stevia, and extracts and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until desired texture is reached. Serve immediately.

Vanilla Caramel Carrot Chia Protein Oats
1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp chia seeds
1 pack stevia (optional)
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg,  and allspice
1/2 tsp each of  vanilla, caramel, and butter extracts
1/3 cup egg whites

Combine all ingredients into a jar or bowl and mix well. Store in fridge overnight for for at least 3-4 hours. In the morning, add in 1/3 cup egg whites and pop in microwave for 2:30 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure the eggs are throughly mixed in. Great by itself or with fruit for extra vitamins!

Green Smoothie Overnight Oats
Original Recipe adapted from OhSheGlows

1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp Vega Vanilla Chai Protein Powder
1 large ripe banana
1 tsp chia seeds
Handful of spinach
1 tsp pysllium husk (optional, added for thickness)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional, added for thickness)
1/3 cup oats

Blend together everything but the oats in a high speed blender or food processor. If adding xanthan gum, blend together everything on the list before blending in the xanthan. Pour over the oats and mix well. Store in fridge overnight and eat cold in the morning.