My Discovery of Overnight Oats



So as of a few months ago, I became engaged in the food blogging world due to my need for holiday recipes. My family is obsessed with food so we start planning our menus a month before the actual holiday. So while researching for Thanksgiving recipes in early October, I discovered something called Overnight Oats. Now, for the longest time, I was very anti-oatmeal. My mom tried to get me to eat it several times when I was a youngin' but every time it would result in the same disastrous ending. I would took one bite, make a face, refuse to eat it, and re-ignite the War of Oatmeal. Well, over the summer, I decided to give oatmeal along with several other healthy foods another chance due to my desire to live a healthier lifestyle. Like normal people, I only thought oatmeal could only be eaten warm and cooked either in the microwave or over the stove. In fact, I used to cringe and make fun of my friend whenever she would eat her oatmeal cold (which she called spackle because hers literally looked like spackle). After reading a few blogs, I noticed a pattern of Overnight Oats recipes and I decided that this was a sign for me to try it. The possibilities of Overnight Oats recipes are endless, which I absolutely love and I would highly suggest checking out these blogs in particular for some awesome recipes: pbfingers.com, katheats.com, and chocolatecoveredkatie.com.



 The first Overnight Oats I decided to try is a chocolate peanut butter-y concoction. I combined old-fashioned oats with unsweetened soy milk, half of a medium sized banana that I caramlized and blended along with a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder and Better 'N Peanut Butter. I mixed it all up right before I went to bed and this is what it looked like right before I put it in the fridge for the night.



   

In the morning, I was absolutely giddy try to my first bowl of Overnight Oats. I hopped, skipped, and jumped to the kitchen and immediately took it out of the fridge.




And here it is all dressed up with another spoonful of PB along with some unsalted, roasted peanuts and fresh blueberries. YUM!!



My curiousity with OO was still going strong so last night I decided to make another concoction for Tueday's breakfast. This time I was thinking of experimenting with my matcha green tea powder. Lately I have been craving green tea mochi so I decided to make green tea mochi oatmeal. Weird? Yes. Delicious? Yes!


Here is the ugly sucker right before I let it rest in the fridge for the night. I used 1/2 cup of oats, 1/3 cup of soy milk, 1 teaspoon of matcha powder, and half of a caramalized/blended banana. I decided to use less milk this time to give it a thicker texture in hopes of mimicking a mochi-like consistency.

 

And here is what it looked like this morning before I jazzed it up with toppings. I know the color looks horrendous but don't let that discourage you because it was pretty dang tasty.   

Now for the toppings! I decided to crush up some unsalted, roasted peanuts and sprinkle that on top of my OO along with some blueberries. It was pretty good but it still wasn't chewy enough for me. I think in the future, I'll try adding less milk and maybe some mochi bits as well.