On a wet weekday the hardest part of breakfast is the first ten minutes. The kettle is slow, the umbrella is lost and the bus does not wait. Overnight oats move all of that work to the evening before. You stir a jar together while the rice cooks, close the lid, and in the morning there is a cold, creamy breakfast waiting with nothing to heat. This version swirls in a spoonful of green latte powder, so the jar tastes gently grassy and mellow instead of plain.

Gather six ingredients and one jar

You also need a clean jar or lidded container of about 300 ml, and a spoon. That is the whole list. If you have no chia, the oats still set, just a little looser. If you have no banana, any soft fruit works.

Follow five steps from jar to fridge

1. Put the Green Latte Mix and the honey in the jar. Add 3 tablespoons of the milk and stir with a teaspoon, pressing any lumps against the side, until you have a smooth, loose green paste. This takes about 30 seconds.
2. Pour in the rest of the milk and stir until the colour is even, with no dry specks on the surface.
3. Add the rolled oats and the chia seeds. Stir well, then press the oats down so they are all under the milk.
4. Close the lid and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Keep it chilled and eat it within 2 days.
5. In the morning, stir the jar, loosen it with a splash of milk if it feels too thick, and top with the sliced banana.

Yields one jar, about one generous bowl. Eat it straight from the fridge with the same spoon.

Know why a cold soak works for a green powder

Oats are made to soak. Rolled oats are steamed and flattened, so they take up cold milk slowly over several hours and turn soft and spoonable without any cooking. The chia seeds swell in the same liquid and thicken it a little further, which is why the jar feels creamy even with a modest amount of milk.

The cold method also suits the green powder. Vitamin C in moringa leaf is sensitive to heat and oxygen, and the powder has already been dried once (Leone et al., 2015). A jar that never meets boiling water gives it one less heat exposure. The paste step matters for a simpler reason: dry powder dropped onto a full jar of milk tends to float and clump, while powder loosened in a few spoonfuls first disperses evenly.

Banana does the sweetening, which is why the recipe needs only a teaspoon of honey or coconut sugar. If you prefer a warm green drink on a damp morning, the coconut milk green latte uses the same powder, and the iced green latte is the version for a humid afternoon.

Change the jar to suit the pantry

• Dairy-free: use oat or coconut milk. Coconut milk gives the richest, softest jar.
• Creamier: stir in 2 tablespoons of plain yoghurt with the milk.
• Milder green: start with 1 teaspoon of Green Latte Mix and add the second teaspoon next time if you like it.
• Two mornings: make two jars at once. Keep them chilled and finish both within 2 days.

Eat it at the right moment

This jar suits a weekday breakfast, a packed desk breakfast, or a slow weekend morning when you do not want to cook. It pairs well with a cup of tea. It is cold and filling, not a complete meal for every appetite, so add an egg or a piece of fruit if you are hungry for more. It is also just breakfast. It will not fix a short night, and sleep, meals and movement still come first.

Read the safety note before you make it a habit

Moringa is eaten as a vegetable across South Asia and has a long record of use as a food. The standing note for moringa products still applies: stop use and see a doctor if you notice unusual tiredness, nausea, loss of appetite, or dark urine (the documented case was anicteric, so jaundice is not the signal to wait for). Speak with your doctor first if pregnant, on blood-thinning medication, or on thyroid medication.

The human trials of moringa that exist have run for 8 to 12 weeks, so treat a daily green jar as something you pause after a couple of months, not a habit with no end date (LiverTox, moringa).

The bottom line

Paste first, oats and chia second, fridge overnight, banana in the morning. If you only have oats, milk and the green powder in the house, that is still a good jar. Ancient Nutra's Green Latte Mix is the shortcut for the green swirl, two teaspoons of one moringa-based powder.

Green Latte Mix 100g

A moringa-based green latte powder that mixes smooth in cold milk or water.

Shop Green Latte Mix

Sources and further reading

• Leone A. et al., Cultivation, Genetic, Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Moringa oleifera Leaves: An Overview, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2015.
• Moringa, LiverTox, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Written by the Ancient Nutra Wellness Team. The team researches, sources, and tests every ingredient before it earns a place in an Ancient Nutra blend. Questions? Email info@ancientnutra.com or message Ancient Nutra on Instagram.

Medical disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Ancient Nutra products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Speak with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you take prescription medication or have a medical condition.