One of my favorite things for breakfast has been and will continue to be oatmeal (or basically anything made with oats, like this). Last year, I started, on occasion, making something called overnight oats based on a recipe I found at Oh She Glows (a very cool vegan food blog). While I absolutely love overnight oats and love thinking up new additions, I am not so good at remembering to make them the night before. And being that I am not much of a breakfast person in the first place, it is particularly hard to remember to do.
When I have actually made the oatmeal the night before, I have loved being able to just grab the jar out of the fridge on my way out. And the cool thing, while I prefer eating the overnight oats at room temperature, warming them in the microwave would totally allow for a “hot” breakfast.
When I recently saw this post on The Kitchn, for the life of me, I could not figure out why I had not thought about doing the oatmeal/jar/week-thing earlier! I tried it out last week and it worked so well that I decided to do it again for this week. So, this past Sunday night, I once again made five mornings worth of overnight oats. My favorite thing about the oatmeal…it actually gets thicker and sweeter each day that it sits in the fridge (I always put fruit in mine so the natural ripening of the fruit helps to “sweeten” it).
The very basic recipe for the oatmeal consists of the oats and the liquid. I use old fashioned oats but you can use steel-cut oats too (the ratio of liquid to oats is different so be alert). I then always add chia seeds, not only because they are superbly good for you, but they also help to “thicken” the oatmeal too. Additionally, I add protein powder, because it helps me to feel full longer, and I also add whatever fruit(s) and spices I have on hand (for additional health and flavor). Last week, I used bananas, strawberries and cardamom. This week, I used bananas, mangos and cinnamon. Between oatmeal breakfast bars and oats-in-a-jar, breakfast is no longer a meal that I ignore.
Overnight Oats In-a-Jar (per 1 serving/jar) (adapted from Oh She Glows)
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1 cup of “milk” of choice (I have been using the Almond Breeze Almond/Coconut blend)
1 TBSP chia seeds
1 scoop of protein powder
fruit(s) of choice
spice of choice
1. Start out with your multiple glass containers. I love mason jars so that is what I used. Five jars for five days.
2. Fill each jar with one cup of your “milk” of choice.
3. To each jar, add the proportionate amount of oats, chia seeds and protein powder.
4. Then add in your fruits and spices (as much as you like). **I divided three bananas and one mango up between five jars.
5. Stir, cover and place in refrigerator. Grab one each morning and head out the door. :)
* And just to give you an idea of how thick the oatmeal gets, here is a shot courtesy of my iPhone:
Yum!!
