They tell you that you really can’t mess it up.
It’s easy. Just dump the ingredients in, refrigerate, and in the morning you will have some healthy and delicious oats ready to eat!
It can’t just be me that is scared of the overnight oats. Maybe it’s the “intimidating” ingredients… chia seeds… what is that??! What else is it in? Where do I buy that?!
Or maybe it’s the way it looks when you first stir it all together (a disgusting, sloppy, terrible, mess.) It could also be the overly adorable little mason jars you’re supposed to make it in. I feel like the cute jar definitely adds some pressure.
Whatever it is, I’ve talked to other moms, and I know for sure that it’s not just me who had to have a major self-pep-talk before tackling the oats for the first time.
Now that I’m on the other side of it, I have to tell you, it really is an easy process. Heck – I don’t even measure anymore! After only my second time I was brave enough to use the one-eye-closed, splash-of-this, and dash-of-that, method. Because — really — you can’t mess it up!
I decided to skip the stressful cute jar, mainly because we have 6 kids and it really just doesn’t make sense. Since I skipped the jar, I also had to pretty much 6X any recipe I found on Pinterest, so that was weird, too. I do think the bowl is part of the process, though. If it isn’t, they have me convinced that it is. It’s like when they told us as kids that it was illegal to drive with the dome lights on and it turns out I’ve been spreading lies to my own kids for 13 years. Anyway, I use my large glass pyrex bowls because I’m not ready to admit any other lies. AND I was already stressed about the process, so glass bowl it is!
A lot recipes I’ve found use Greek Yogurt. Our smallest daughter has some pretty intense eczema issues, so we skip yogurt. My kids loved the combination of Oats, peanut butter (the powder is what we use, but regular works too), protein powder (thanks husband for having that in our house), maple syrup, chia seeds, vanilla, blueberries, and oat milk.
Sidenote: We picked our own Blueberries this past summer and froze them! There’s a blueberry farm in Elkader, IA called Blueberry Hill where you can pick your own blueberry’s by the large basket for only $20. We got three baskets which left us with TONS of blueberries.
As far as Overnight Oats go, you really just have to try it. Make sure to get enough milk to cover everything! The milk is the most important. The oats will expand. If you fill your glass container halfway with ingredients, then you’ll want to fill it to the top with milk.
That’s the trick! There isn’t one. Just do it. It’s okay – I was scared, too!
It really, really, is a super easy busy mom meal that kids love. I can say this without a doubt because ALL SIX of my kids will eat it!
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