Overnight oats are an easy way to enjoy a grab-and-go breakfast on busy weekday mornings. With this recipe for pineapple-macadamia overnight oats with yogurt, you’ll take your taste buds on a trip to Hawaii. Aside from being delicious, there are no added sugars here, helping you to stay on track with your health goals. Why not try this recipe out?
Aloha! With the kids heading back to school soon, mornings are about to become a little bit busier. I’m featuring my inaugural recipe today, pineapple-macadamia overnight oats with yogurt.
All of the recipes that I will be featuring on the website will contain no added sugar, no refined grains, and minimal ultra-processed foods. I am not the food police and am not saying that you cannot choose to eat these foods if you wish. However, as mentioned several times on this website, grain-based desserts are the top source of calories in the U.S. diet.
If you’d like to include added sugars and refined grains in your diet, they are highly prevalent in our society. You don’t need additional ideas from me on ways to include them. I don’t restrict any foods from my diet, but honestly added sugars and refined grains only make it into my diet on rare occasions.
What are added sugars?
Before we head into the recipe, I’d like to quickly review what added sugars are. Added sugars are not the natural sugars found in fruit and milk. Rather, they are the sugars added to foods during preparation or processing.
Added sugars go by many names on food labels. Here are some ways that they may be listed (chart from choosemyplate.gov):
It is very easy to consume an excess of calories when you have a lot of added sugar in your diet. At the moment, manufacturers do not have to differentiate between added sugars and total sugars on labels. A ruling was made that this information must be included on the label by 2020 or 2021 (depending on the size of the food manufacturer).
Something to be aware of is that single-ingredient honey and maple syrup may not be listed as containing added sugar (in grams). Nor will cranberry products that have been sweetened to the level of less tart fruits (e.g., dried cranberries sweetened to the level of raisins). However, honey and maple syrup added to other products will have the added sugar content be listed.
What about juice?
Fruits and vegetable juices made with 100% juice are not counted as added sugars. On the other hand, foods sweetened with fruits and vegetable concentrates are considered to have added sugars.
Since even unsweetened juice is a concentrated source of calories, stripped of fiber, I will not be including juice recipes on this website. I may use minimal amounts of juice in the dressing and marinade recipes.
I do not recommend making juice drinking a regular part of your diet if your goal is healthy weight management. Water and milk are the best beverage choices.
Ready to get cooking?
To make things easier for those who have a fat loss goal, I am dividing all recipes into three levels. You are, of course, welcome to enjoy recipes from any category that you wish (I certainly do).
However, choosing more level one
Level 1: May Help Support Fat Loss
These recipes will contain plenty of filling protein, fiber, and/or water to help with satiety for fewer calories. Per serving these recipes will contain:
≤ 500 calories for meals, ≤ 100 calories for snacks
Level 2: Transition or Weight Maintenance
The recipes at this level may help those who have met their weight
501-700 calories for meals, 101-200 calories for snacks
Level 3: Weight Maintenance and Active Lifestyles
Some of the food I eat currently fits this category. These nutrient-rich recipes contain adequate calories to help support my active lifestyle while still keeping me at healthy weight maintenance. Per serving these recipes will contain:
> 700 calories for meals, > 200 calories for snacks
I am putting any recipe containing flour or dried fruit in this category, regardless of the number of calories it contains. Bread and grain-based desserts are the top two sources of calories in American diets; this includes whole-grain varieties. It may be easier to create the calorie deficit needed for weight loss by limiting products made with flour.
And now for a disclaimer...
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The calorie information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use.
Pineapple-Macadamia Overnight Oats with Ginger Yogurt - No Added Sugar!
Ingredients
- 5.3 oz Greek yogurt, non-fat plain, unsweetened
- ¼ c milk, 2%
- ⅓ c oatmeal, dry
- 1 t fresh grated ginger
- ½ t dried ginger
- 1 c fresh chopped pineapple
- ¼ c macadamia nuts, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, milk, oatmeal, and two types of ginger.
- Put half of the oat mixture into a pint jar.
- Top with half of the chopped pineapple.
- Layer the rest of the oat mixture on top of the pineapple.
- Add the rest of the pineapple to the jar and top with macadamia nuts.
- Cover the jar and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy a grab-and-go breakfast the next morning!
Notes
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). Lighten up this recipe by using skim milk in place of the 2% milk. The amount of nuts can also be cut in half. Add more energy density to this recipe by substituting whole milk and whole milk yogurt. You may use a sweetened vanilla yogurt instead of the plain yogurt here if you prefer things sweeter, but that will add additional calories and some added sugar. Make several of these for busy weekdays; they will keep 2-3 days in the fridge!
Nutrition
If you try this recipe for pineapple-macadamia overnight oats with yogurt, I would love to hear how you liked it! I find that skipping the added sugar and adding some protein-packed yogurt to a small portion of oatmeal makes this grain much more filling. This nutrient-rich recipe easily carries me through until lunchtime.
I’m particularly curious whether some folks who lean towards low-carb diets for greater satiety might find a recipe like this filling. If you are a low-carber who is not using the diet for a medical condition and wish to engage in some experimentation, drop me a comment if you try this one out. Let’s do science!
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