Loaded Overnight Oats

How would you like to wake up and have your oatmeal, already sweetened and ready to eat. There is no need to cook, you just open the refrigerator door and there it is. That makes it very handy for early morning breakfasts, whether you are dashing out the door, of trying to get a bunch of kids off to school. This is a popular trend on various internet food blogs and Pinterest. It is called overnight oats. It is a mixture of milk, large flake oats and a sweetener. It is often made in cute pint-sized mason jars. The ingredients go into the jars raw, and are then left in the refrigerator for 12 plus hours, before they are ready for you to eat them. Don’t worry if you don’t have mason jars, you can use cups or glasses. I have tested several recipes and I have some information to share with you. Some recipes suggest making the oats up in the evening to have ready for the morning. I did this and I found the oats still tasted a bit raw and chalky. After 24 hours, the oats had the smooth and creamy flavor that the bloggers were boasting about. The beauty of this is that you can make up a whole week’s worth of breakfasts in advance. You can use regular dairy milk, coconut milk, almond milk or the milk of your choice. You can create a lot of different variations by adding either 1/4 cup berries, 1/4 cup fruit or 1 tablespoon nuts, raisins, protein powder and spices. You can use large flake rolled oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. You can use your favorite sweetener such as brown sugar, honey, stevia or coconut sugar. I shared this concept with you almost a decade ago, but I have some new flavors and twists to add for you. I am also using organic quick oats, which works out just great, with a shorter time, in fact you can even eat it right away. Every ingredient on the Loaded and the Chocolate Haystack Overnight Oats is bringing numerous health benefits. I have been eating the Loaded Overnight Oats on repeat, and I even grab it to take to work to enjoy at lunch as a healthy dessert. I have been making it with organic quick oats.

Loaded Overnight Oats

1/2 cup organic oats, large flake or

quick oats

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon cream, optional

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 dates chopped

2 teaspoons raisins

2 Brazil nuts, chopped

2 walnuts chopped

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Combine all the ingredients, in your container. Stir, store covered in your refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours for large flake oats (longer is better), or less time for quick oats.

Chocolate Haystack Overnight Oats

1/2 cup organic oats, large flake or

quick oats

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon cream, optional

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Combine all the ingredients, in your container. Stir, store covered in your refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours for large flake oats (longer is better), or less time for quick oats.