Overnight Oats

Hi all! Welcome back. There have been a few more days than usual between my last post and this one...ever since graduation, I've been even busier than usual, it seems! Funny how that works... I've been meaning to blog before now, but it just hasn't been possible!

This post is a bit different from the typical Barbershop recipe, as it doesn't even involve any baking. Uh oh! But rest assured, even though this doesn't involve baking, I think you will want to try this recipe. :) I may have mentioned Kath Eats Real Food previously; this is a blog by a woman who's devoted to eating healthy, "real" food. She blogs about everything she eats...yes, everything! It's a little crazy if you ask me. But then again, for her it's her job (she has a sort of business attached to it) so she's somewhat obligated to do it! I couldn't imagine that though, sharing everything I eat with the world. And she has thousands of followers too, so there are a lot of people out there who knows every bit of food that Kath eats day in and day out!

One of Kath's common breakfasts, especially when she's short on time, is her famous overnight oats. This recipe essentially consists of soaking oats in liquid overnight, and then voila, they're ready for breakfast the next morning! There's no cooking necessary at all! Kath offers many different suggestions on her site about various combinations of ingredients for her overnight oats, and you can check them out on the link I provided above. For my first time making this the other night, I chose to use some ingredients I had on hand, which you can see below. You can also see a bit of the bouquet of flowers that Mike got me for graduation last week in the back there. :-D

Here are all the ingredients I used:

-1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

-1/2 cup skim milk

-1/2 cup Dannon Light n' Fit vanilla yogurt

-one half banana, sliced

-1/4 cup (approximately, I didn't measure) sliced almonds

-1 tsp. or so of peanut butter (just for a little extra flavor and protein!)

When you make your oats, you should add equal amounts of oats, milk, and yogurt. Any type of milk will work too, depending on your preferences (regular, almond, soy, etc.), as will any type of yogurt (flavored, greek, etc.). And then you can go "wild" with your other ingredients! The only thing to keep in mind is that all of the ingredients will be a bit on the soggy side when you eat the oatmeal mixture the next morning, so I'd recommend staying away from adding anything that you don't want to taste soggy (maybe cereal?). Kath has a ton of suggestions on her site for other additions. Some ideas beyond what I added in mine this time include various fruits (berries!), flaxseeds, different nuts, pumpkin, spices (I'd go for cinnamon :)), maybe a little jam or jelly, maple syrup, etc. You name it, you could put it in your overnight oats! Here is a picture of my ingredients in the tupperware before I mixed them all together.

And then here they are again, all mixed and ready to sit overnight in the fridge!!

I liked a few things in particular about this recipe... For one, it was suuuper easy. If you like to eat a healthy breakfast to start your day, this is a great way to do it. It's especially great if you're a busy person who doesn't have a lot of time in the morning (or maybe that's because you like to snooze a few times? ;-)). All it takes is 5 minutes (tops!) to put these oats together the night before. I did eat my oats cold, and I liked them a LOT. I suppose you could heat them up, but I think the recipe is intended to be eaten cold. It's definitely worth a shot though to warm them in the microwave if you think you'd prefer that! The recipe was delicious and filling; it held me over for a few hours after I ate it. Typically, I have something lighter for breakfast and I'm hungry again for a mid-morning snack within two hours or so! But these held me almost until lunch time, I'd say. If you know you're going to have a busy day at work or school, I'd highly recommend starting off your day with a tasty combo of ingredients in the form of overnight oats. You'll enjoy them, I promise! And that's a Barbershop guarantee. ;-)

Oh, and here are my favorite Hallmark characters, hoops and yoyo, helping me eat my overnight oats at my desk at work. :-P