Well, I love my oats, but I really love texture. I love the crunch of nuts, the smooth, creaminess of Greek yogurt and the crispiness of a KitKat. (<– Whoa, how’d that get in there?)
Since I am basically obesssed with my barley breakfast bowls, I figured why not try to use barley in the same way we use oats in overnight oats?
Last night I put a bunch of uncooked pearled barley on top of a cup of Greek yogurt to chill in the fridge overnight.
Overnight Barley
This morning I added a sliced nectarine to the mix before digging in.
Eat Me!
The overnight barley bowl was a huge success!
Allowing the barley to soften a bit on top of the Greek yogurt made it totally edible without having to bust out a pot and cook up the whole grain ahead of time.
Breakfast is Served
I paired my overnight barley bowl with an Adora calcium disk because those things are seriously candy disguised as a calcium supplement. So good!
I actually nabbed a whole pack of them for $3 at Marshall’s the other day. They’re normally close to $9 for a pack, so it was quite a steal!
I was also craving a taste of fall, so I filled up my tumbler full of Barnie’s pumpkin spice coffee at my gym and am currently sippin’ on this hot fire!
Pumpkin Fiiiire
Workout
Today’s workout was typical of a Wednesday. BodyPump! Love that class. Today I upped my weights on the squat track and really felt it in mah quads. Ooooh I just love the burn. It hurts so bad, but really it hurts so good. (Right, John Mellencamp?)
Question of the Morning
Have you tried overnight oats? Thoughts?
I like overnight oats, but I don’t looove them. I’ve only tried them mixed into yogurt though and think I may like them more with a lil’ milk thrown in the mix. I think that’s the key!
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You can actually do it with no yogurt at all (just almond/soy milk) and that’s the only way I like it!
I had them this morning. I agree with you on the texture! Also, I never seem to get mine right… this morning they were too dry! I’m definitely going to have to try the barley thing!
I really like overnight oaks. I recently bought a big bag of barley for a dinner recipe and I thought, how am I going to use this big bag of barley! Problem solved! I’ll have to try this out! Thanks!
I like overnight oats! They aren’t a good as cooked oats in my opinion but definitely make the morning process go by faster since they are already made and ready to eat! Your barley looks delish tho 🙂
I like overnight oats! I was always hesitant to try them because it looked kinda gross to me! I sucked it up and gave them a whirl and ended up being delicious!
I re-subscribed to your blog, but for some reason I’m not getting any email notifications when you have a new post up! 🙁 Is this happening to anyone else?
hi michelle! thanks SO much for bringing this to my attention. i fixed the links & now these should work:
click here to subscribe via email.
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I’ve never tried overnight oats before. I tried once, but I added way too much milk and I had to throw it out. I have some barley in the pantry, I might just have to try overnight barley!
Have you ever tried overnight steel cut oats? I think that might be good as well.
I really love overnight oats! If you’re looking for more of a crunch try buying some muesli which has nuts already in it so it retains the crunchiness. Also a delicious combination is using pumpkin instead of yogurt with some honey and cinnamon. It’s like pumpkin pie for breakfast.
I’ll be honest – I don’t love overnight oats. They’re okay, but they aren’t my first choice when it comes to breakfast. I like cool oats but something about them just don’t do it for me. I love barley though so I think this is definitely worth a try!
Totally agree. Sometimes they gross me out. The texture is weird. I love adding yogurt to them! =) I think they taste better when they aren’t overnight and just a few hours! Hhaa.
I just started eating overnight oats a couple of days ago. I tried doing 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup soy milk and 1/2 cup water but it was way too liquidy, so the second time around I left out the water. In the morning I add 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder and a small handful of Kashi GoLean Crunch because I also love textures! The crunch mixed with the smooth oats is delicious.
I really like overnight oats but I’ve only tried the vegan overnight oats from ohsheglows.com; they have oats, soy/almond milk, 1/2 mashed banana, 2 Tbs. chia seeds, and a splash of vanilla… they’re good with a little nut butter on top too!
I despise overnight oats. I think they are disgusting!
I like overnight oats and only started to eat them this way after seeing them on so many blogs. To be honest I still much prefer my oats warm…traditional gal at heart! =D
Yep, I’ve tried overnight oats and I do enjoy them. I mix in 1 tbsp of Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter, lots o cinnamon, some raisins and crushed pecans.
I still prefer hot oats though!
I just tried overnight oats for the first time on Monday, and I like them! I used Coach’s Oats, which are steel cut oats, and they have a bit of crunchy texture, so it wasn’t complete mush. The barley sounds interesting, must try!
I love overnight oats! I stole the pumpkin idea from you. I mixed 1/2 c oats, 1/2c canned pumpkin, 1 4oz greek yogurt. Then added cinnamon and nutmeg and it was so good! Love pumpkin.
Also did the oats, yogurt, sugar free chocolate jello pudding mix. Added bananas on top. Yum and soo filling!
I’m going to try the barley. Never had it before.
Ok I just confirmed! YAY thanks for fixing
I’m not a fan of overnight oats. Kind of mushy and not so good. But maybe that’s just me. Aaaand I’m not really a fan of oats these days. Usually I need a lot of nutbutter, dried fruit and other crunchy things added to make me like them and that plan was making me a little rounder. 🙂
I do like the barley bowls though- regular style. Have good day!
Laughing at the undercover pic in cubeland!
I’ve never tried overnight anything. I find it a bit odd but maybe one day I’ll get the urge!
I sometimes feel like the only person in the blog world who does NOT love overnight oats. They always turn out a little bit mushy, and the consistency doesn’t sit right with me. I much prefer my Greek yogurt + cereal + fruit combination in the morning.
I like warm oatmeal, so I generally don’t make overnight oats.
i go back and forth on the overnight oats thing. the texture’s great, but i don’t love the temperature and get a little iffy about microwaving yogurt…but it’s not that much more trouble to make the warm version in the AM for me anyway 🙂
That looks so good! I will have to try it.
I too have fallen into the overnight oats crave but I do agree they are not my favorite. They can be nice in the summertime but overall, I really just love my hot oats 🙂 I am such a creature of habit!
I like overnight oats but not nearly as much as I like hot oats. I am always in search of finding a good “crunch” option for my oats though and have found that most granola options aren’t the best. Right now my addiction is still hot oats, a spoonful of dark chocolate peanut butter and a few cut up strawberries.
I don’t think I have ever tried barley! Now I have to 🙂
Never tried em, I’m not a big fan of oats in general.
Such a good idea! I have some barley in my cabinet just dying to be used!
Love barley!!! So hearty and chewy.
I love how chewy overnight oats get! I usually do a vanilla yogurt & cinammon, topped with banana or raspberries. So so yummy! I want to try adding pumpkin now that I was finally able to find some at my grocery store!
I actually tried them for the first time this morning! I thought they were good and worth trying again. However, inspired by you, I’ve been cooking barley at night and eating it with Greek yogurt in the a.m., and I think it’s far better. Those chewy barley grains are SO good!
I wasn’t fan of the overnight oats until I met Bircher muesli in Zurich. Now I finally managed to make my own amazing bircher, aka overnight oats. It’s awesome
I love overnight oats!! I’ll be sad when it gets too cold to eat them.
I eat overnight oats on most mornings and I can’t get enough! Gotta try out the barley. So creative of you!
I definitely prefer overnight oats mixed with milk and not yogurt. I don’t like the tartness. Try it with mashed banana or some pumpkin as well to add creaminess!
love that you shared a photo drinking coffee today–it is national coffee day!
Confession: I don’t like overnight oats and I don’t like green monsters. Sorry! I just think they’re gross! I’d rather have a awesome bowl of steel cut oatmeal and a smoothie with yummy frozen fruit and greek yogurt and get my spinach in another way.
I have actually never tried the real version with milk and oats, but I do prep my yogurt + cereal bowls over night and let it thicken up and meld together!
I’m definitely a fan of overnight owats. I do however make them with milk and a good splash of real vanilla mmmmm.
I’m curious about overnight barley though! I didn’t realize it would actually soften up so much over night! I think i just might have to give that a try tonight. 🙂
I love overnight oats, I first tried it this past summer and became totally obsessed. But they are INFINITELY better when layered with that banana soft serve… with peanut butter and cocoa powder mixed in there too, of course, haha. It’s like dessert for breakfast!!
I like them but I don’t love them. It saves on time in the morning but I like a little crunch and texture to my oats 🙂 And every now and then there is nothing like warm oatmeal to warm the insides on a cold winter day, although you probably don’t have that problem 😉
i’m not too much a fan of overnight oats. i don’t like the texture too much.
For someone who isn’t crazy about hot oats, I was surprised at how much I love overnight oats. Something about the taste really hits the spot first thing in the morning…maybe its the mildly sweet/carby taste of the yogurt and oats? Anyways, big fan of OO right here! 🙂 Your barley sounds good too…same idea.
Yes, I love overnight oats. They are so cold and creamy. Milk is a must.
i love oatmeal but i like the texture so i don’t like overnight oats… too mushy for me. 🙂 in fact, i make my rolled oats just with boiling water thrown in–no cooking required!
I LOVE overnight oats, but my body doesn’t like to digest yogurt properly. Which stinks because it tastes soo freagin’ good!
I stopped getting e-mails from your blog and I actually was worried about you! lol, I was thinking “hmm…I hope she’s ok!”
I came directly to the site and realized there were still posts. So I’m excited to read what I’ve missed.