Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Easy Peasy Refrigerated Oats




Who doesn't like easy and yummy? I am all about easy and yummy!  And here it is - refrigerated oats....there is no cooking involved....no cooking! How does this work?  Just mix a few items together, let them sit overnight, and viola!  You have breakfast, a snack, or even dessert ready to go!  I have really enjoyed these over the summer, but I will definitely continue to make these year-round.  I can't take credit for being the mastermind who came up with this sensational jar-sized snack, but as usual, I look at a bunch of recipes, and come up with my own.

These are individual 8-ounce servings, and work perfectly in small Ball jars.  I choose the plastic ones, they are cute, and I can take them to the pool.  You can buy plastic lids that fit specially on the glass version which is nice too.

I like preparing these at night, and then they are ready the next day as soon as I need a snack, and before I go for a handful of chips.  I like that these are full of fiber and protein, so they keep me going for a couple of hours.  Being gluten-free, and for the most part vegetarian, it can be really difficult to get protein throughout the day, and this solves that question.

One ingredient I love is chai seeds, one of today's "superfoods". They act as a thickener and are full of nutritious fiber and protein. And let's not forget, two words....chia pet.

The following recipe is for maple blueberry oats, but you can try any combination. I love blueberries, so this is my favorite, but I have also replaced the blueberries with raspberries and strawberries.  For my daughter, I replaced the blueberries with bananas, and the maple syrup with Nutella. She absolutely loved it. You could use cocoa powder, peanut butter, mango, agave, coconut, the possibilities are endless...

Maple Blueberry Refrigerated Oats
(recipe is for one 8-ounce jar serving)

1/3 cup uncooked old-fashioned gluten-free oats

2 teaspoons chia seeds
1/3 cup milk (I like to use almond milk)

1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 cup fresh, washed blueberries

Combine the first 5 ingredients directly in the jar, cover and shake;

Add the blueberries, cover and shake again gently;

Place in the fridge overnight, and enjoy the next day!

I like to make several at once, and leave them in the fridge up to 3 days.