Migraine Friendly Recipes - Banana Maple Brown Sugar Refrigerated Oats

Finding foods that do not trigger a migraine can be daunting at times.  If you're like me, then avoiding certain foods can be tricky when they taste so good!  But, with willpower and perseverance, it can be done. Another trigger for migraine is missing meals.  I am notorious for not always eating breakfast.  Most of the time, I am pretty groggy from a migraine and am too tired and nauseous to get up and fix myself something to eat.  With also being gluten free, my options are limited.  I could go with scrambled eggs and gluten free toast, but who wants to fire up the stove every morning?  One day while perusing Pinterest looking for quick and inexpensive breakfast ideas for my kids, I came across a recipe for refrigerator oats.  I love oatmeal and had just started putting more effort into what I ate, so I gave it a go. It was a hit!  Plus, it's an ingenious way to pack in a lot of nutrients in a quick and accessible little package.  

Maple Syrup, Steel Cut
Oats, & Organic Brown
Sugar

Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds,
& Banana Chips

Since I do not eat gluten, I try to use gluten free oatmeal in mine. Regular oats don't seem to bother me so I'll occasionally use regular oatmeal if I am not able to buy gluten free oatmeal.  If you have found that gluten is a trigger for you, opting for gluten free ingredients will be the better choice.  I have made refrigerator oats in different flavor combinations. You can throw whatever you like in them.  I tend to like it simple with only a few ingredients. Earlier in the week, I was shopping at ALDI and saw that they started carrying chia seeds and flax seeds at a much lower price than where I usually buy them.  I had a craving for bananas so I picked up a bag of banana chips too, along with steel cut oatmeal, organic brown sugar and maple syrup. Everything cost less than $3 a piece with the exception of the maple syrup, so it was inexpensive to purchase them all.  When I first started making these, I purchased jelly mason jars to store them in. They are a really convenient size to take with you to work, on the road, etc.  Because of the banana chips, these didn't work so well.  I managed to get it all to fit but in the future I'll use my pint sized mason jars instead for this particular recipe. (You can purchase mason jars at Walmart, Target, your local grocery store, or on Amazon.)


The bananas go really well with the brown sugar and maple syrup and it isn't too sweet. The key is to use unsweetened milk so as to not add more sugar. Using the steel cut oats adds 10 grams of protein and the chia seeds add 4 grams of protein alone!  Plus, it has 15 grams of fiber and is only 260 calories.  Awesome, right!  It's an extremely healthy breakfast that doesn't lack in flavor and gives you lots of energy.  You don't have to worry about your blood sugar dropping and causing a migraine after eating this.  I really hope you try it or a variation of your own.  Let me know what you think and if you have your own recipe, please share!

Banana Maple Brown Sugar Refrigerator Oats

By Jaime M. Sanders

Published 07/31/2015

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With these refrigerator oats, you can prepare your daily breakfast in a few short minutes the night before and have it ready whenever you are!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gluten free steel cut oatmeal or quick cooking oatmeal
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1/4 cup banana chips
• 1 tbsp organic brown sugar
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• (or omit the vanilla extract and use 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

Instructions

• In a pint size mason jar, combine all ingredients. Cover with lid and shake to mix it all together. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning warmed up or cold.

Yield: 1 serving

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 00 mins.

Total time: 5 mins.

Nutrition

• Protein: 15 grams
• Dietaryfiber: 15 grams
• Calories: 260