Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal every day.  I love it.  I always put fresh fruit in it when it's available.  Those of you who live in seasonal climate know how hard it can be to find fresh fruit in the winter!  When I can't find fresh fruit, I defrost frozen and it serves it's purpose.  

I saw this new way to make oatmeal (well, new to me) in canning jars, and I figured I'd give it a whirl.  I like all of the ingredients and had them on hand, except for Chia seeds, which I had only heard of from those old chia pet commercials...."cha-cha-cha-chia!"  You know you know it.  (And now it's stuck in your head, right?  Me too.)  I'm not going to go into all of the health benefits of Chia seeds, you can google it.  Or omit it, if you like.  What's in the jar, you ask?

Ingredients:  

1/4 c old fashioned oats (I used Quaker)

1/4 c plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage Nonfat Greek Yogart)

1/3 c skim milk

1 1/2 tsp Chia seeds

1 tsp sweetener (depends on your recipe, but you can use jam, honey, agave nector)

1/4 c fruit or other mix-in you choose (whatever fits to the top of the jar)

I found lots of recipes on The Yummy Life blog, where I found this delicious idea.  (Click the link to see detailed steps and pics.)  There are many variations for it too!  So far I have made the blueberry, apple cinnamon, strawberry (adapted the raspberry one), and the chocolate banana.  They were very easy to make and I found the Chia Seeds at a local health food store.  I made these variations last night and put them in the refrigerator for them to work their magic.

May 9, 2012

This morning I tried the blueberry one....YUMMY!  I didn't think I would go for it cold,, but I like it a lot!  To take to go anywhere would be great.  I will add my daily "taste tests" of the various types to this as I try, but I couldn't wait to post so that you can start trying for yourself. 

Stay tuned to see what I try next. 

May 10, 2012
This morning I went with the strawberry!  OMG, delicious!  If you are thinking about trying this...try it!!!  And yes, I just ate it out of the jar.  Next time I do this I may just use my prep bowls with lids.

May 11, 2012
Went for the chocolate banana.  Either I did something wrong or it's not my cup of tea...which is weird because I love all things chocolate and banana.  How bad was it?  I threw it out.

Took out the last one (the applesauce one) and threw it out too.  NOT tasty at all to me.  I think I would have liked it if I made it like the blueberry and strawberry and put in fresh fruit instead of the sauce.

Now I know!