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I’m a Registered Dietitian dedicated to helping you eliminate your PCOS symptoms with sustainable and realistic nutrition changes.
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Are Mush Overnight Oats Healthy? A Dietitian’s Review
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Are Mush Overnight Oats healthy? If you’ve seen these little overnight oats containers at your local grocery store and have wondered about them, I’m going to answer all of your questions!
As a registered dietitian, I’m going to give you my honest thoughts in this full Mush Overnight Oats review.
In this blog post, I’ll go over Mush Overnight Oats’ ingredients, nutritional value, how to make them, and whether or not they’re actually healthy.
What are Mush Overnight Oats?
Mush Overnight Oats are conveniently packaged individual servings of overnight oats made by the US-based company Mush.
The company, Mush, prides itself on using natural ingredients, without anything artificial or any animal products. Mush overnight oats are available in a variety of flavors in the refrigerated section of many big grocery stores.
Mush has the following flavors of overnight oats: apple cinnamon, blueberry, coffee, dark chocolate, maple cinnamon, PB & J, peanut butter chocolate chip, peanut butter, strawberry, and vanilla bean.
Fun Fact: Mush appeared on the popular television show Shark Tank in 2017.
Mush Overnight Oats Ingredients
Mush overnight oats contain simple ingredients. Depending on the flavor, these overnight oats consist of rolled oats, plant based milk, dried fruit (most often the dried fruit includes dates), fruit juice concentrate, sea salt, and other flavoring ingredients like cinnamon, peanuts, cocoa, or vanilla extract.
Here’s a closer look at the ingredients used in Mush Overnight Oats:
- Rolled Oats. This is the star ingredient of Mush Overnight Oats for obvious reasons. Rolled oats provide carbohydrates and fiber to this product.
- Plant-Based Milk. Depending on the flavor chosen, the plant milk used is almond milk, coconut milk, or oat milk.
- Dried Fruit and/or Dates. These provide natural sweetness to the overnight oats. In most flavors, dates are used as the primary sweetener. For some flavors though, there are other dried fruits, such as dried apples or dried strawberries, added.
- Fruit Juice Concentrate. Some flavors also use fruit juice concentrates, such as apple juice concentrate or strawberry juice concentrate, to add sweetness to the overnight oats.
- Sea Salt. This is added to bring out the overall flavors of the overnight oats. It can sometimes enhance the sweetness of the other ingredients too.
- Other Flavors. Depending on which flavor of Mush Overnight Oats you’re choosing, there may be other natural flavors added such as cocoa, cinnamon, peanuts, cold coffee concentrate, or vanilla extract. Two flavors, the maple cinnamon and peanut butter chocolate chip, do contain added sugar.
Ok, let’s move on to the nutrition content of Mush Overnight Oats.
Mush Overnight Oats Nutrition
Since Mush Overnight Oats uses whole foods as the ingredients in their products, the nutrition conversation surrounding these products is pretty straightforward.
Mush Overnight Oats are a good source of fiber, with each container providing 4 to 7 grams of fiber. This is the nutrient that I’m most interested in when talking about overnight oats. That’s because oats are complex carbs so we’d want to see a good amount of fiber…and we do!
Another thing I’m always wondering about is added sugar. Mush claims to not have any added sugars in their products. At first glance, this is true. With the exception of maple cinnamon and peanut butter chocolate chip, the other flavors of Mush Overnight Oats don’t contain any added sugar. But, when you consider that the natural sweetness comes from added fruits or fruit juice concentrate…this is going to add some sugar. These types of ingredients don’t need to be counted as added sugars though according to FDA guidelines. This is just an observation and perhaps something to be aware of if you need to be particularly mindful of your sugar intake.
For protein, most of the flavors are relatively low in protein, containing approximately 5 to 6 grams of protein per container. The exceptions are the PB & J, peanut butter chocolate chip, and peanut butter flavors. Each of these flavors contain 15 grams of protein per container.
Mush Overnight Oats are relatively low in fat also, with most flavors containing approximately 6 to 10 grams of total fat per container.
In addition to those macronutrients, Mush Overnight Oats are a good source of iron, magnesium, vitamin B6, and zinc.
How To Make Mush Overnight Oats?
The beauty of Mush Overnight Oats is that they’re ready-to-eat. All you have to do is pull one of these containers of Mush Overnight Oats out of the fridge, open it, and you’re ready to dig in!
Can You Heat Mush Overnight Oats?
While Mush Overnight Oats are intended to be eaten cold, you can certainly heat them up if you prefer them that way!
If you prefer to eat them hot, transfer your Mush Overnight Oats to a microwave safe bowl and stick in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, stirring occasionally, until it’s heated through. Alternatively, you could also scoop your Mush Overnight Oats into a pan or skillet and heat on medium-low heat on the stovetop.
Are Mush Overnight Oats Healthy?
Yes, Mush Overnight Oats are healthy. These individually packaged overnight oat containers are made with wholesome ingredients and are a good source of fiber.
For some people, these may be adequate and a great option for a healthy breakfast. For many people though, one container of Mush Overnight Oats may leave you feeling a little hungry. That’s because most of the flavors are low in fat and protein – two nutrients that help to keep you satiated and keep blood sugar levels more stable.
If you’re using a container of Mush Overnight Oats as just part of your meal, I’d recommend adding a source of protein, healthy fats, and maybe even more fiber.
Here’s some of my go-to topping options for Mush Overnight Oats to make it a more filling breakfast option:
- Protein: plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein powder, or unflavored collagen peptides
- Healthy Fats: chia seeds, flaxseed, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans, or a scoop of nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter
- More Fiber: flaxseeds, chia seeds, fresh berries or another fruit
My personal favorite combo is to put one container cup of vanilla bean mush into a large bowl with fresh berries, walnuts, and a cup of yogurt.
I also like to eat a container of the PB chocolate chip Mush oats as a snack since it’s a great source of fiber and protein!
The Bottom Line
Mush Overnight Oats are individual servings of ready-to-eat overnight oats. They can be found in the refrigerated section of multiple different grocery stores.
These use clean ingredients, are suitable for those following a plant-based diet, and are nutrient dense. They’re a particularly good source of fiber. Some flavors are also a good source of protein.
Mush Overnight Oats are healthy. For some people, they may be a filling option for a snack or a meal. For other people, you may need to add other food components to your meal to make it more filling.
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One Response
don’t eat on empty morning stomach without water first – I got much gurgling in empty stomach then drank water and the fiber kicked in and was in bathroom shortly afterwards.
while they make a viable snack for afternoons I will stay away from them in morning as a sub for breakfast –