What makes these overnight oats so healthy? The combination of superfoods that are sure to give you a nutritional boost and fuel you for hours.
What are superfoods?
Okay, so here's where I need to come clean. Superfoods aren't an official food category, and are rather a descriptor used for any nutrient rich food that can improve your overall health. That doesn't mean to say that food can't have "super" properties, though: eating just 1/2 cup of oatmeal a day has been proven to lower your cholesterol [1]. Other examples of superfoods include leafy greens, berries, green tea, cacao and nuts & seeds.
In this recipe, we combine a few of these superfoods to make healthy apple cinnamon overnight oats.
Oats
Oats are fulls of fiber which can help lower your cholesterol [1], and help you loose or manage your weight [2]. They are also rich in vitamin B-12 which helps with brain function and regulating energy levels [3].
Cinnamon
The antioxidants in cinnamon have anti-inflammatory properties [4] and can help reduce cholesterol [5]
Hemp Hearts
Hemp hearts are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and gamma-linolenic acid which can lower your risk of heart disease [6]. They are also rich in vitamin-E, minerals and antioxidants.
Almonds
Almonds are rich in antioxidants [7], and vitamin-E, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease [8]. Perhaps counter intuitively, almonds have also been shown to help reduce belly fat [9].
Sunflower seeds
Sunflowers are particularly high in vitamin-E and selenium, which act as anti-oxidants and have been shown to help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar [10]. They also have anti-inflammatory properties [11].
Whether or not you agree with the word "superfood", we can't ignore the fact that the foods we eat can have direct effects on our overall health. Eating healthful foods can go a long way in reducing our risk of disease, and in its own way, can be a form of preventative medicine. Try the healthy overnight oats recipe below for a heart-healthy dose of nutrient rich foods.
The Healthiest Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats Recipe
ingredients
- 1 packet of Yumi Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp hemp hearts
- 10 almonds
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1/2 apple slices into small pieces
- 1/2 apple cut into thin slices for garnish (see photo)
recipe
- Mix 1 packet of Yumi Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats with 1/3 cup almond milk and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, mix your soaked oats with 1/2 of an apple chopped into small pieces.
- Add the mix in a bowl and top it with help hearts, almonds and sunflower seeds.
- Garnish your oats with apple slices.
- Enjoy!
References
1. Brown L, Rosner B, Willett WW, Sacks FM. Cholesterol-lowering effects of dietary fiber: a meta-analysis.Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69(1):30‐42. doi:10.1093/ajcn/69.1.30
2. Van Horn LV, Liu K, Parker D, et al. Serum lipid response to oat product intake with a fat-modified diet.J Am Diet Assoc. 1986;86(6):759‐764.
3. Kennedy DO. B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy--A Review.Nutrients. 2016;8(2):68. Published 2016 Jan 27. doi:10.3390/nu8020068
4. Gunawardena D, Karunaweera N, Lee S, et al. Anti-inflammatory activity of cinnamon (C. zeylanicum and C. cassia) extracts - identification of E-cinnamaldehyde and o-methoxy cinnamaldehyde as the most potent bioactive compounds.Food Funct. 2015;6(3):910‐919. doi:10.1039/c4fo00680a
5.Allen RW, Schwartzman E, Baker WL, Coleman CI, Phung OJ. Cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Ann Fam Med. 2013;11(5):452‐459. doi:10.1370/afm.1517
6. Chang CS, Sun HL, Lii CK, Chen HW, Chen PY, Liu KL. Gamma-linolenic acid inhibits inflammatory responses by regulating NF-kappaB and AP-1 activation in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages.
Inflammation. 2010;33(1):46‐57. doi:10.1007/s10753-009-9157-8
7. Garrido I, Monagas M, Gómez-Cordovés C, Bartolomé B. Polyphenols and antioxidant properties of almond skins: influence of industrial processing.J Food Sci. 2008;73(2):C106‐C115. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00637.x
8. Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Rosner B, Willett WC. Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary disease in women.N Engl J Med. 1993;328(20):1444‐1449. doi:10.1056/NEJM199305203282003
9. Berryman CE, West SG, Fleming JA, Bordi PL, Kris-Etherton PM. Effects of daily almond consumption on cardiometabolic risk and abdominal adiposity in healthy adults with elevated LDL-cholesterol: a randomized controlled trial.J Am Heart Assoc. 2015;4(1):e000993. Published 2015 Jan 5. doi:10.1161/JAHA.114.000993
10. Guo S, Ge Y, Na Jom K. A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common sunflower seed and sprouts (Helianthus annuus L.).Chem Cent J. 2017;11(1):95. Published 2017 Sep 29. doi:10.1186/s13065-017-0328-7
11. Jiang R, Jacobs DR Jr, Mayer-Davis E, et al. Nut and seed consumption and inflammatory markers in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.
Am J Epidemiol. 2006;163(3):222‐231. doi:10.1093/aje/kwj033
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May 01, 2021
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