Overnight Oats

I know this isn't a workout or a normal "Training Tuesday" post, but a (big) part of training is nutrition/diet. So I decided to take a different approach this Tuesday. Hope you enjoy...

I have seen a few bloggers rave about "overnight oats" so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It seemed like a great idea: throw some ingredients in a mason jar, stir, throw it in the fridge overnight and VOLIA! You have a yummy, healthy breakfast in the morning. Well, apparently its harder than it looks (or I'm really that dumb that I can't follow the simplist of recipes).

I looked up several different recipes, but tried Lauren Conrad's version first because I had all the ingredients in my fridge already.  She required:

• 2/3 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1/2 cup organic rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vanilla (or plain) Greek yogurt
• 1 pinch of cinnamon

These oats are regular rolled oats from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.
 
This is how it looked when I stirred everything together, before I put it in the fridge...

And this is after it was in the fridge overnight....

Not too appetizing, even when I added lots of cut up banana.  I like my oatmeal thick, super thick, so I was disappointed. But then I remembered that a few recipes called for chia seeds, so I looked up Julie's version from PB Fingers.

Here's the loot (I still added some cinnamon since I knew it needed it from the first recipe.) These oats are instant oats from Whole Foods bulk bins.

• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 6 oz of Greek yogurt

(mixed, before overnight refrigeration)

 (after overnight refrigeration)

Julie insists that the key to the recipe is the chia seeds, and I think she's right.  I added blueberries (I was out of bananas) and a swirl of agave before eating. It was still strange to eat my oatmeal cold, but I think I could get used to it in the summer.  I love that I'm still getting the sustainability of oatmeal, but with the added protein of the Greek yogurt.  Plus chia seeds are suppose to help with that "full" feeling.

Have you ever tried overnight oats? What's your favorite recipe?