Overnight Apple Pie Oats

Why is it that we never seem to truly appreciate something until we lose it? The past few months have shown most of humanity, myself included, that much in life gets taken for granted. Places, people, food, supplies, and even time have all been shown to go underappreciated. Despite all of this, what continues to remain overlooked is energy. Whether you followed stay-at-home orders or bravely worked the front lines during this ongoing pandemic, you likely suffered an increase in stress, irritability, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. If you feel like your life has been losing steam, or have already completely lost it, the first place to look for more energy is at mealtime and nighttime.

Poor nutrition and poor sleeping habits are the leading causes of a lack in energy. Our body has an internal power plant, but it needs food for energy. Whatever you put on your plate becomes that fuel. For anyone suffering from fatigue, the first thing you must address are your eating habits. Are you fueling your body with high-powered fuel or energy-sapping junk? The only way you can continually maintain high energy is through optimal nutrition. You must choose to consume only clean, nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods that will keep your blood sugar in check. This is key because when blood sugar spikes and crashes, so will your energy. To have high energy, one must swap out the quick fix foods high in sugar and carbs for energy enhancing foods like quality protein, healthy fats, fiber, and whole, unprocessed foods.

Unfortunately, when one is fatigued, building a balanced meal is difficult. To prevent having to prepare healthy foods for every meal and snack, meal prepping becomes a crucial step to staying fit. One of my favorite items to prep for breakfast and snacks are overnight oats. They are very easy to assemble, taste phenomenal, keep you satisfied for hours, and are chock-full of heart-healthy insoluble fiber. For this recipe, I wanted to transform my usual weekly oat prep into an apple pie, and so I did just that. With the addition of cinnamon, cardamom, chopped apples, and walnuts, a jar of humble oatmeal is transformed into a healthy meal designed to keep you full and energized. Now that is something I certainly will no longer take for granted!