Protein Overnight Oats for Runners

What’s the best way to wake up in the morning? A run. What a silly question…but after the run, perhaps overnight oats for runners or my infamous green smoothie!! Ahh yes, post run nutrition is so much more than replenishing carbohydrates, it’s recovery and not being ravenous later in the day!

Recently, I shared that I won a lottery entry to the Chicago marathon. Which was both terrifying and exciting, but most importantly reminded me of a promise I made to myself.

I would not train for another marathon until I made some improvements to my nutrition. I’ve cut my sugar way back and finally gotten my protein higher, but I know I’m not always taking in enough calories when the miles increase and I want to make sure I’m getting the nutrients I need!

Let’s kick off my goals with some overnight oats!

High Protein Overnight Oats

Since protein has made such a difference in how I feel, I’m absolutely focused on continuing to add it to my meals. Plus, a balance of protein and carbs in the meal keeps the blood sugar steady and the fat burning going.

Use whatever oats you prefer, but I tend to lean towards Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats, especially since our local Colorado brand stopped making plain oats.

Strawberry Banana Overnight Oats

And as noted, I’m LAZY. I don’t like complicated recipes. These can be as easy or crazy as you want with mix-ins. I started with the easy version.

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 bottle Strawberry Banana Core Power
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts or serve with 1 TBSP nut butter

Vegan High Protein Overnight Oats

Can you add protein powder to overnight oats? Why yes indeed, you can!! You may find in the morning that you need to add just a little more liquid, but otherwise it works great and gives you the ability to play with flavor if you have a kind you like.

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 scoop vanilla pea protein powder
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• 2 tbsp blueberries (I’d add fresh in the morning)
• dash of salt

*fun tip! I learned that you often need to add that little bit of salt to your overnight oats to help the flavor!

*veggie tip! I love finding sneaky ways to add in veggies, so checkout my overnight oats with beets because beets have been shown to help boost endurance!!

Bonus: For those of you who can do dairy, I can’t say enough about Greek Yogurt as an option. I love this one from The Healthy Foodie as a great option (pictured above).

Pre-Workout Overnight Oats

Can you eat these before a run?? I’ve detailed my best pre-run meals and snacks previously, but especially after watching my husband on race mornings freaking out over eating enough or not enough, I thought we should talk about this option.

Oats + protein + any of the mix-ins are going to provide you with a great balance of energy, but also FIBER. So this is where it pays to know how your body reacts to different foods.

I love that this will give you a steady flow of energy, but if you have a sensitive stomach, I’d suggest keeping it to a post run meal so as to avoid the runner’s trots.

Why are overnight oats a good choice for runners?

I love it when my nutritionist friends talk to me about branching out from my Cheerios love because they tell me things like “here’s why you need to eat other grains”. And of course, now that we see how easy these are and have been reminded of the benefit of combining them with protein…more reasons:

• Great source of Vitamin B
• High fiber to feel full longer and keep our digestion on track
• Great vegan source of iron (runners are often deficient)
• Contains a ton of other nutrients like magnesium
• Can improve blood sugar control, which keeps runger at bay and means it doesn’t cause that huge energy spike and crash

All right, now that we have expounded on the virtues of a food we’ve all known for years…can I also remind you that potatoes might be the best runner carb you’re skipping?!

How often are you eating oatmeal?

Are you doing it as overnight oats?

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