These mango overnight oats with banana and coconut are an easy make-ahead breakfast, packed with nutritious ingredients and full of tropical flavor.

You (all, like, five of you who read this blog. Hi, mom!) might have noticed I've been quiet for the last six weeks or so. I've been in a funk, of sorts.
First, I have all these great recipes to share, so I started sharing them... Then I started to worry too much about SEO and "proper" blog post formats and a bunch of other bullshit that took the fun out of blogging.
Second, well... this part is more complex than just saying, "fuck you!" to the so-called rules of blogging.
Like, way more complex. But probably really familiar to some of you.
I don't even know where to start with this, but I'll give it a try.
Last night, I was writing in my journal to try to work through figuring out what I need to do to make my own projects (like this blog) a priority in the same way I make my food photography clients' shoots a priority. I have plenty of time every week. The work I do fills me with joy and I have tons of ideas I'd like to make a reality.
So I paused and asked, "What's stopping me?"
A bunch of fucked up thoughts started pouring out of me onto my notebook. Basically, it boiled down to this. Can being a food blogger and food photographer really align with my "need" to lose weight?
In 2017, I had a hysterectomy. I was TERRIFIED I was going to gain weight because of menopause, so I went on my 5,000th diet to try to prevent it. This time it was vegan keto. That is a whole other post right there, but I'll just say I started this ridiculous, unnecessary diet weighing 133 pounds (I'm 5'5"), and very quickly gained 30 pounds, thanks to diet-induced binge eating. That was the heaviest I had ever been and I felt miserable.
Then I went back to carbs. My darling, wonderful carbs. Oh, and fasting. I got really good at not eating. I'm still really good at not eating. That got my weight down to 144, and I've been hovering around there for about a year.
In the last month or so, I started restricting even more. It's my way of having control over something when everything around me seems chaotic and uncertain. Pushing "breakfast" to 3pm... maybe even 5pm. Running 8-10 miles in the morning and eating nothing but a big ass salad that day. No more coconut milk in my coffee because surely that's why I'm not losing weight.
Obsessing over food. Resistance. Control. Restriction. Deprivation. Urgency. Anxiety.
THIS. SHIT. IS. EXHAUSTING.
My eating habits are disordered and obsessive, for sure. They've been that way for decades. How do I fix it? How do I eat like a normal person?
How do I feel my feelings instead of using food to avoid them? How do I learn to love my body, no matter what? How do I get my fucking life back and stop being so obsessed with food and losing weight?
Hopefully I'll find some answers as I work through this. If I have any epiphanies, I'll be sure to share. But for now, I'm going to slow down and make some time to play around in the kitchen, which I'm very excited about.
I just want to create delicious recipes and take pretty pictures of them and share that with the world. And sometimes, like today, I want to use this blog to tell a damn story or talk about my damn feelings. So that's what you're gonna get. There will always be the"jump to recipe" button at the top of the post if you don't want to read my bullshit, but I hope you'll stick around.
If you've ever struggled with emotional eating, yo-yo dieting, or obsessive thoughts about food and weight loss, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. If you're still struggling, maybe we can work through this together. Or, if you've figured out how to live life without the diet/weight obsession, please share some things that helped you. Books, podcasts, anything. I'm looking forward to connecting with you!
Human connection is everything and I'm happy you're here, reading this. ❤️
So, here we are. I'm excited to work on being less obsessed with food in a restrictive way and more excited about food in a recipe creation and food photography way. And I'm really fucking excited to eat these mango overnight oats.
Things You'll Love About This Recipe
- This mango overnight oats recipe is vegan, gluten-free, nutrient-dense, and whole food plant based.
- If you're into meal prep, overnight oats will be your new breakfast BFF. One batch makes two or three servings (depending on your appetite). Double the recipe by hitting the "2x" button on the recipe card below and you'll have a ready-to-eat breakfast for most of the week!
- Banana, coconut, and mango give this oatmeal a tropical vibe. Pretend you're eating it at the beach for maximum enjoyment.
Ingredients and Substitutions
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, but here's a quick look at the ingredients you'll need to make mango overnight oats.

- oats, obviously (I like old fashioned rolled oats for this)
- banana
- mango (fresh or frozen)
- almond milk or your favorite plant milk (or use water for a less creamy oatmeal)
- canned coconut milk (or more plant milk)
- hemp hearts (optional, but good fiber and protein)
- ground flax seeds (or chia seeds)
- vanilla extract
- salt (oats are weird and bland without a pinch of salt!)
- unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted for extra yumminess
Recipe Steps
First, mash your banana.

Next, add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl (except for the toppings) and mix it all together.


Pour the mixture into two or three jars. Cover and refrigerate overnight. I got these super cute jars at the Dollar Tree for $1 each and they're perfect overnight oat jars.

The next morning, grab a jar, add more mango and some toasted coconut, and dig in. That's it! Enjoy your nourishing tropical breakfast! 🥭🍌🥥


Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a rating and comment below, and share a picture on Instagram.
Tara T says
As someone who once had a flat stomach (+ an eating disorder), ruined their metabolism, gained a lot of weight, then finally years later seemed to get a lot of that metabolism back... I can say now that I was at one of the most unhappiest points of my life with that flat stomach. A happy body is a nourished body. And you've always been the cutest to me, every time I see you! I am rooting for you to find a path to peace of mind when it comes to all of that. I know how hard it can be. Also thank you for helping inspire me to go vegan 🖤
Amber says
Tara! You are so amazing and I've always thought you were the most gorgeous human. Physically, of course, but also so genuine, creative, adventurous, and compassionate. Can we please get together and have a vegan Japanese food feast sometime soon?! Like, FOR REAL, for real!
Tara T says
You are too sweet, thank you for that. YES, please! We really, truly, need to! I have so many appetizers I could do, we could have a tapas style feast haha