We’ll talk overnight oats in a minute, but first let’s recap today’s workout!
Workout
I awoke this morning feeling rather sluggish. Yesterday’s day of rest also turned into a day of mindless eating as the night wore on, which left me feeling uncomfortably full as we went to bed. Blah.
All the more reason to begin this week on a healthy note!
Lately I feel like my snacks have been filled with more sugar and less nutrients than usual and my mission this week is to change that.
Full speed ahead!
Today’s workout was a good one. Ryan and I began our time at the gym with 20 minutes of cardio split between the stair master and the elliptical. I requested 10 minutes on the stair master and Ryan grudgingly agreed, saying that the stair master isn’t a warm up, but a seriously legit workout. It is tough and I like how it almost immediately gets me sweating.
Then it was time for a leg workout:
The final exercise really hammered it home for me because I took my time to do each rep incredibly sloooow. My buns were burnin’!
How to Make Overnight Oats
I eat a lot of overnight oats. They pop up on this blog all the time because I think they are delicious and I love how they make breakfast so easy since all the prep work is done the night before.
I tried them for the first time after reading about them on a bunch of blogs. I thought they were disgusting at first because I never made them quite right and the texture was always off.
I know that there are tons of recipes for overnight oats all over the internet, so definitely check them out and try out a bunch of different recipes to find the one you most enjoy!
Here are some recipes I found that seem to get good reviews:
- Whole Foods Overnight Oatmeal
- Alton Brown’s Overnight Oatmeal
- Collection of Overnight Oats Recipes from Kath Eats Real Food
- Collection of Overnight Oats Recipes from Eating Bird Food
Many people make overnight oats with just oats and milk as a base, but I’ve found that my favorite overnight oats include four main ingredients.
- Old fashioned oats
- Milk (I’ve used both almond milk and regular milk and both work well!)
- Chia seeds
- Greek yogurt
It actually took me a lot of playing around with oats, milk, yogurt and chia seeds to finally get the combination that I felt like yielded the perfect consistency and thickness.
I now eye-ball measurements every time I make overnight oats, but last night I took the time to actually measure everything since I’ve received a few requests for my exact overnight oats recipe and had a lot of you comment and email me complaining about overly-liquidy oats.
First, I combine one 6-ounce container of Greek yogurt, two tablespoons chia seeds, 2/3 cup oats and 1/2 cup milk in a large bowl.
I then stir it up, cover the oats and let them sit in the fridge overnight.
They will go from this…
To this…
Very thick and chewy!
In the morning, I stir the super-thick oats and add in another 1/4 cup of milk to make everything slightly more liquidy, but still quite thick.
Then it’s time to top the oats with fresh fruit, nuts or nut butter and dig in!
A couple of notes:
- To me, the key to my favorite overnight oats is the inclusion of chia seeds. These cannot be substituted because they add thickness to the oats that simply cannot be duplicated. If you do not have or do not like chia seeds, you may wish to reduce the amount of milk in the overnight oats to maintain thickness.
- If I am using plain Greek yogurt, I will add about one tablespoon of honey or fruit preserves to the oats before letting them sit overnight for a bit of sweetness.
Question of the Morning
- Have you ever tried overnight oats?
- What is your favorite way to make overnight oats? Feel free to link to a favorite recipe!
Whitney @whitlikes fit says
Hmm, I just tried them for the 1st time today and the verdict’s still out. I used non fat plain greek yogurt and I feel like I just couldn’t get them sweet enough. I added honey, almond butter and a banana but they were just too sour. I’m thinking it might be better to do a flavored yogurt?
Elis says
oh, how I love overnight oats, I just have one question if you use flavore yogurt or just plain ? =)
Julie V says
Hey Julie! Do you think maple extract would add a great flavor to the oats? I love maple & brown sugar oatmeal so I’m curious.
Chelse says
I made overnight oats for the 1st time last night and had it for breakfast this morning…. It was so good! I’m always looking for quick and healthy breakfast ideas!
Lindsay says
Quick question – how many servings does this recipe make? Is it all your or do you split it with your hubs? Since we can’t just whip more up if there’s not enough I want to make sure I start out on the right foot. Thanks!!!
Beki says
This is such a good idea! I’m hopeless at thinking about what I want to eat in the morning so to have something tasty already prepared sounds perfect. I even have a pack of jumbo oats in the cupboard at the moment- will definitely have to give this a try 🙂
Mary Beth says
I just “stumbled” across your blog and I’m officially obsessed 🙂 I made these for the first time last night and they were wonderful! I’m a full-time working mom of a 2 year old and preparing breakfast the night before really saved me time (and a trip through the drive-thru) Thanks!