My First Attempt at Overnight Oats

A while ago I began a love affair with oatmeal. I never ate it growing up and had a bad experience with it in college (don't worry, I'll leave it at that!), but Woody has it often so I gave in and gave it a try. And then I fell in love. It was an instant addition to my breakfast rotation. I love the texture, and while I'll eat it plain at restaurants, my favorite way is with banana slices, cinnamon, ground flax seeds, chia and a bit of peanut butter. Sometimes I'll add another fruit like blueberries or strawberries. Delicious! It's always completely satisfying and I know it will keep me full for hours!

In the summer though, it's so tough to eat oatmeal when it's 90 degrees outside. Eating a hot meal after my workout doesn't usually sound too appealing. Nevertheless, I keep oats in rotation (although less frequently) so I eat something other than a yogurt mess every day. I've been reading for months now on other blogs about overnight oats. I'm sure many of you have read about this too, and most likely have tried them, but for those who are asking "what are overnight oats?" it is basically un-cooked oatmeal that you put together and then store in the fridge overnight so the oats can soak up the liquid.

I decided to give it a try and prepared my oats Sunday night, covered the bowl and stuck in the fridge. I kept it pretty simple and was definitely happy with it Monday morning! There are a few things I would change (it was a bit too liquidy for me) but I'm definitely adding this version of oats into the rotation! I'm also going to try a few different variations along the way, so I'll keep you updated.

(You may have noticed I've joined the FoodBuzz world, so from now on I will try to include 'recipes' for my meals, even though most of my cooking is by sight and feel. Recipe writing is something I'm going to work on.)

With the changes I'll make next time, here is my recipe for
Overnight Oats for Beginners:
The night before, combine the following ingredients in a bowl, then cover and place in the fridge:
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup water
1/2 tbs raisins
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground flax seeds

The next morning, add and mix in:
1 small banana
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp peanut butter
more cinnamon to taste

Apparently all ingredients can be mixed in the night prior, but personally I think the fruit would get too mushy.

I'm not certain where this trend started, but Kath over at Kath Eats Real Food, has a long list of recipes to try. Some seem like they'd be quite high in calories and fat (depending on the additions) but it all depends on your activity level and what you have planned for the rest of the day.

Have you tried overnight oats? What is your favorite summer time breakfast?

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workout stats -

13 miles bike

25 minutes StairMaster

3x10 cable pull push down

3x10 arm extension

3x10 tricep overhead extension

3x10 tricep kickback

75 crunches

stretching