Overnight Oats

Hey y'all!

My name is Jennifer, and I'm the middle child of the Ahns family!

Yesterday, Patricia and I made overnight oats, and I wanted to share our recipe with you guys. Overnight oats is my new favorite breakfast and snack! It is super healthy, and it keeps you full for a pretty long time -- which is ideal if you're like me and you're trying to lose weight the smart way! Also, this treat is not only healthy, but it is super easy to make. There is NO cooking required. With summer rapidly approaching, I sense that these chilled oats are going to be a hit among me and my friends!

What you'll need (for 1 serving size):
- Mason jar (a case of 12 pint-sized mason jars is $8 at Walmart; although it may seem like 12 is a bit excessive, keep in mind that these jars can really come in handy -- use them to drink out of, to store your crafting supplies, to hold your Q-tips in the bathroom, etc...the possibilities are endless!)
- 1/2 cup of skim milk
- 1/2 cup of plain yogurt or Greek yogurt (we did not use non-fat, but you can if you'd like)
- 1/2 cup of 100% Whole Grain Old-Fashioned Oats (NOT instant oats)
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1/2 cup of chopped fruit (bananas, apples, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter or Nutella or fruit preservatives

Here is a picture of all of our ingredients!

Let's get started!

1. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt into the mason jar.

2. Add 1/2 cup of oats.

3. Add 1/2 cup of chopped fruit. In the jars pictured below, we used diced apples.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter or Nutella or fruit preservatives. We used peanut butter (pictured below) and Nutella.

5. Add 1 tablespoon of honey to sweeten your treat! (My sister is pretty much a pro chef so she's really good at eyeing these measurements.)

6. Add 1/2 cup of skim milk, and stir. Make sure all of the ingredients are mixed together very well, especially the peanut butter and Nutella, which tend to clump.

7. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and stir. Again, mix it very well to avoid cinnamon clumps!

8. Cap the mason jar, store in the refrigerator, and let it chill overnight.

9. WAKE UP!!!! It's a brand new day, and lucky for you, you get to start it off right with the most nutritious and delicious breakfast. Give it a final stir, and enjoy!

Notes:

- Some overnight oats combinations are better than others, but don't be afraid to experiment! We've tried banana-Nutella, banana-peanut butter, and apple-peanut butter, and all of these tasted great. It even tastes great without fruit.

- If you're using banana as your fruit, you should add your banana slices into the jar right before you eat it. If you add them in the night before, the bananas will be super mushy when you eat them for breakfast.

- You can add/lessen the ingredient amounts to your liking. For example, if I want it to be sweeter, I add more honey. If I want the consistency to be more pudding-like, I add more oats or reduce the amount of skim milk. If I want it to be less chocolate-y, I use less Nutella (but let's be real, this never happens).

- There are a variety of overnight oats recipes. I saw one that included chia seeds and substituted plain yogurt with vanilla yogurt. YUM, I'll definitely have to try it!

P.S. I don't think my parents even know this, but I am a Style Advisor for Dormify, so I do this blogging type of thing pretty often. Feel free to check out my website! I only have a few posts up right now, but I have a bunch of posts pending (they have to be approved by my boss), so be on the lookout!