Refrigerator Oatmeal

Hello Ladies and Gents,

The first recipe that I have decided to make from Pinterest is the "Banana Cocoa Refrigerator Oatmeal" from TheYummyLife.com. The website has great, healthy recipes and you should definitely check it out! :) There are a bunch more recipes for the flavored refrigerator oatmeal on the site here. Monica, the site's owner has also posted newer flavors here.

I decided to try this for a couple of reasons:

1. One of the changes I mentioned in my last blog is a healthier lifestyle. By this September I am trying to lose 30 lbs (I can't believe that I admitted that to strangers, haha) for a wedding I am attending. This recipe is only 245 calories and fits perfectly into my 1490 calorie limit for the day.
2. I am extremely lazy when it comes to cooking, so I thought this would be a quick fix when it comes to making breakfast - Just mix it all the night before and grab it on your way out! Couldn't be any easier!

The recipe goes as follows:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)
• 1/4 cup diced ripe banana, or enough to fill jar (approx. half of a small banana)

Directions

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, cocoa powder and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

Nutritional Info: 245 calories, 5g fat, 56g carbs, 10g fiber, 13g protein; Weight Watchers PtsPlus: 8

Results:

I haven't been able to get my hands any chia seeds yet, so I cannot give a complete result. It looked good though - but not exactly as the website pictured (oh well).

The mason jars that I used were from Joe's Crab Shack - a local seafood chain. When you order certain drinks, you get a mason jar and get to keep each one you order. It's a great way to stock up on your collection without having to shop around too much. Because I didn't have a twist-able lid, I used a pieced of tin foil folded in half and a rubber band. worked just as well as a lid, just not as nice looking.

This morning I grabbed my breakfast and tasted it before I left for work and woooow was it bitter! I was a little disappointed in the recipe. I'm not sure if I used the wrong cocoa powder or the wrong greek yogurt, but it wasn't as tasty as I wanted it to be. I added sugar (a few spoon fulls to taste), and that sort of solved the problem. The sugar made it more bearable. 

Tonight I prepared the Blueberry Maple for tomorrow.  I stole a taste already, and I liked it way better than my first attempt. See how much better this one looked:

I think after some trial and error, this could be a great way to start the day!

Happy Crafting!

Katie <3