I was first introduced to the idea of overnight oats through the blog world.  Many bloggers (myself included) really enjoy a morning bowl of the nutritious whole grain, and it seems as though we are always coming up with a new way to prepare them.  Overnight oats are simply your regular oats that you make oatmeal with soaked in twice the amount of liquid in the refrigerator overnight.  That is the basic formula, but the variations on this equation are ENDLESS!

How to Make Overnight Oats

Begin b by measuring out your oats.  I typically start with either 1/2 cup.  Then pour that into your bowl, or container of choice.

Next, measure out your liquid.  This will be double the amount of oats that you put in your bowl.  Now, this is where you can start to get creative.  Most of the time I just combine 1/2 cup of oats with 1 cup of water, but you could do 1/2 cup of milk (almond, cow, soy, etc…) with 1/2 cup of yogurt for extra thick and creamy overnight oats.  You could even use some pasturized egg whites to get some protein.  Do whatever your taste buds desire!

When I don’t use yogurt or egg whites, I mix in some protein powder so that I can get adequate protein in my morning meal.  Just one scoop will do!

I then like to add in vanilla extract, maybe some stevia, cinnamon, or other flavorings so that they can really soak through the entire bowl of oats all night.

The last step is to simply place in the fridge and wait until the morning! (This process can also be done in about an hour if you forget to do it the night before.)

In the morning, simply remove the bowl from the fridge and add your toppings.  My toppings are usually fruit and nut butter, but yours can be whatever  you want!  Crunchy cereal, nuts, granola, the possibilities are unlimited.

These oats are so simple, and great to make if you don’t have a lot of time in the morning.  If you love oatmeal for breakfast in the winter, but hate the thought of something hot for breakfast in the hot summer months, then overnight oats is a great thing to have in place of your regular hot oats.  This breakfast is a thick, creamy, delicious way to enjoy your morning bowl of oatmeal.

Other Overnight Oats Ideas:

• Overnight Oats:  Kath Eats she has some really creative breakfast oat ideas!
• 6 Flavors:  The Yummy Life 

Breakfast

Oddly enough, I did NOT have my overnight oats for breakfast this morning, I had a smoothie bowl 🙂

Strawberry Almond Smoothie Bowl:

• 1/4 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/3 frozen banana
• 1 handful spinach
• 1 scoop pea protein powder
• splash of water
• 3 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend away! Once my mixture was thick and creamy I added 2 tsp of crunchy Maranantha Almond Butter on top.  Delish!