Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Perfect Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight oatmeal + Tassimo coffee = out the door with a hot breakfast and caffeine in less than 5 minutes.

Alright, so I know oatmeal isn't all that time consuming to make, but do you have 10 minutes to boil and stir before heading out to work? I don't. And I only work part time.

I start work at 8am on Sundays. Which means I wake up at 7:00 in order to be out the door by 7:20. I refuse to get up any earlier than 7. It's just not right. So I need a breakfast that can be cooked and eaten in less than 5 minutes, or can be warmed up at work. There's always Timmies, but I don't want to endure their coffee just for a bagel that sometimes they forget to toast.

I used to bring dry oatmeal and add hot water from the water cooler (is that an oxymoron or something? Hot water from the water cooler?), but it was never quite right. Sure, it was hot and ready (my fave, lol) but that is more like oats in hot water than oatmeal. There is a difference.

I'm giving a recipe, but it's really more a guideline. Tonight as I'm writing this, I am eating oatmeal that I mixed this morning to bring to work for dinner (somehow we are out of bread and crackers, my usual go to's if I can't find something to bring for lunch), and I added dried cranberries, candied ginger, walnuts, and cinnamon. I'm hoping it will keep me full long enough to avoid a vending machine visit at 10pm. 'Cause that's never pretty.

Two Years Ago: Nada. I was newly preggo. 'Nuff said.

PERFECT OVERNIGHT OATMEAL
An Amy Original
Serves 1
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (don't use quick-cooking!)
  • water
  • spices i.e. cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, etc
  • any combination of add ins: dried cranberries, nuts, seeds, raisins, chopped fruit, frozen berries (no need to thaw), pumpkin puree, chopped crystallized ginger, etc
  • milk to serve, if desired
  • sweetener to taste, if desired (maple syrup, honey, brown sugar)
Place oats in a bowl or to-go container. Add enough water to just cover oats. Stir in any spices and add ins. Cover and place in fridge overnight. In the morning microwave until hot. Add milk and sweetener if desired.

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