Red Velvet Cake Overnight Oats

A few months ago I tried overnight oats and absolutely fell in love. They're so versatile, and they are a nutritious filling breakfast that keeps me full until lunch. I've tried so many recipes I've found across the web - all of them delicious. But recently I've been thinking about trying my hand at a few recipes of my own.

My birthday was a few weeks ago. My boyfriend and I spent the weekend going on random adventures. He made me a red velvet cake - my absolute favorite! It was Game of Thrones themed, which happens to be my favorite TV show. And made from scratch. So awesome! You done good, babe.

Seriously, check out this cake!

I promise these two things are related. I've seen a lot of recipes for dessert-ish overnight oats. So, I figured, why not try to create a red velvet cake overnight oats recipe? After a few tries, here is what I came up with. The healthy way to have cake in the morning, these oats are packed with nutrients to get your day started off right.

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~ Ingredients ~

½ c. rolled oats

½ c. unsweetened almond milk (or your milk of choice)

1 tsp. chia seed (optional)

1 tsp. flax seed (optional)

½ Tbsp. lemon juice

½ Tbsp. cacao powder

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. butter extract

½ tsp. stevia

Red food coloring

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~ Instructions ~

Mix the milk and lemon juice together in a bowl. Let sit for a few minutes. This will give your oats the buttermilk flavor you want for a red velvet cake. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (oats, chia seed, flax seed, and cacao powder).

After the milk/lemon juice mixture has sat for about two minutes, add the vanilla and butter extract. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together in a bowl, mixing well. Once combined, add a few drops of red food coloring, until you have the "red velvet" look you want. Move to a mason jar and store in the fridge overnight. Top with cacao nibs or unsweetened coconut.

Grab your spoon and enjoy dessert for breakfast!

A note about the red food coloring: I explored several possibilities for getting the red color in these oats, originally not wanting to use artificial coloring. Some mentioned having success with beet juice or cherry juice. I tried cherry juice without success. I looked into using beets, but everything I found was canned, and I've been trying to move away from consuming canned foods because of the preservatives. In the end, I just went with the red food coloring because it was easiest. But feel free to experiment and find what works for you. I do plan to try these at some point with beet powder to see how it works. Would love to hear about your results if you try something different.