The Endless Possibilites of Overnight Oats

I've never really written about Overnight Oats before. Mostly, because I figured every savvy dieter has already heard of them.

But to my amazement, my usually "in the know" boyfriend was shocked the other day when he was exposed to their creamy goodness.

As you all know, I eat the same egg white/wheat toast combo for breakfast every.single.day.



But lately, I've been busy and have found it's easier to have a pre-made meal ready to go. So, I've turned back to an old favorite staple...ONO's.

As we dashed out the door one morning to get to the airport, my man was curious about the strange looking goop I was downing in the car. So I gave him a bite.

"Oh my gosh, what IS this?!" he exclaimed. "It tastes like banana bread pudding."

I was surprised he liked it so much. He's very much a meat and potatoes kind of guy. But yeah, it's awesome, duh.

Moral of the story, he asked why I hadn't shared this with my readers and thought it imperative that I did immediately. So, here goes...

Overnight Oats is old-fashioned oatmeal, combined with your favorite mix-ins, and soaked in milk (I like light soy or unsweetened vanilla almond) overnight.

The combo that knocked his socks off had vanilla protein powder, banana, and chia seeds in it. Other great mix-ins are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, flaxseed, hemp seeds, almond butter, cocoa powder, and other flavors of protein. It's basically a big bowl of whatever makes you happy.

The only part that really needs to soak overnight is the oats. So you can add in the other stuff in the a.m. if you like. The oats expand and get creamy in the process. Chia seeds do this too, so add them at night if you want them gooey, or in the morning if you want a crunch.



Here's my favorite basic recipe:

1/2 Oats (150)
2 Scoops Ariva Vanilla Protein Powder (80)
1 C. Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (40)
1 Small sliced Banana (60)
1 Tbs. Chia Seeds (60)

Combine all the ingredients in a covered bowl or container to take to work, and throw it in the fridge at night. You'll have goopy goodness by morning!

Total Calories: 390

For less calories skip the chia seeds, only use one scoop of protein, or both. For more, toss in a tablespoon of creamy almond butter...mmmmmm.