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Let’s Talk Oatmeal

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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17 Comments

  1. Alleigh

    So, I admit it…I always look at the overnight oat recipes because, like you mentioned, they’re all over the blogosphere, but I’ve always been skeptical about how good they would actually taste. Do you normally put fruit or nuts into your regular oatmeal? And, do you think that once Logan gets older and you have a little more time for breakfast, will you continue to make the overnight oats…or is this really a stopgap measure to stay healthy now?

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Excellent questions. First, it does taste good. I have not tried the overnight oats with anything other than steel cut oats. I plan on trying other kinds of oats to see if there is a difference. What I liked about the steel cut oats is that it was kind of chewy and not just a big glop of goo. My fear with regular oats is that it will be mush. So we will see.

      When I make regular oatmeal (cooked) I usually add a little bit of brown sugar and either dried coconut or nuts on top (slivered almonds are my favorite). I rarely added fresh fruit to cooked oatmeal. I don’t know why. But using the overnight oats and eating it cold I prefer having fruit on top. The slivered almonds or chopped nuts add some nice texture to the cold oats, in my opinion.

      I think this will become a regular breakfast. I like that it’s easy and you spend 5 minutes the night before and then it’s ready in the morning. The one downside is that if you forget or don’t have time to do it the night before, you’re out of luck. I will probably do this breakfast a few times a week going forward.

      1. bethh

        I use rolled oats and usually microwave them (1/2 cup oats, salt & water, 1 minute, add 1 T peanut butter for another 30 seconds, works out to 244 calories that last me quite a while).

        I’ve also done the rolled oats in a jar with milk and some sort of topping – I used to pull that together in the morning as I headed out the door to work, and by the time I got to them in about a half-hour, they were good. So that could be a decent morning plan if you forget to do the oats the night before.

        1. Lisa Eirene

          Oh that’s great to know! There have been a few mornings I wish I’d found the time to put it together the night before. Thanks!

  2. Jenna

    http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

    This site has a great base recipe for the oats, along with lots of different fun and yummy topping combos! I didn’t grow up eating oatmeal, and am not a fan of hot oatmeal, but I love these! So simple and so, so filling, especially with the addition of chia seeds-I’ve never used flax, I’ll have to try it. I like to use frozen berries, as I find they sweeten the oats as they melt without the need for added sweeteners.
    Also, you mention peanut butter is a bit much, have you tried PB2?

    I’ve been a long time reader-congrats on your new babe! He’s so sweet!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thanks for that link Jenna! I really appreciate it. The recipes look really good. I plan on doing more experimenting (and just got some chia seeds, too) in the future.

  3. Lori

    I tried overnight oats once, but I just don’t like cold oats. I do love overnight oats in the slow cooker. That’s the best way for steel cut, I think. I use this recipe: http://www.findingradiance.com/2016/01/05/slow-cooker-overnight-apple-cinnamon-oats/ The water bath is key.

    I also do a pumpkin one. It’s nice because this makes 4 servings.

    1. Lori

      I forgot to mention the water bath method allows the oats to sit there and not get burned, so if you oversleep it doesn’t matter. It’s so nice to wake up to a breakfast you just stir and dish out.

      1. Lisa

        So you eat it cold?? The idea looks great, but I have texture issues with oatmeal and I just don’t think I could handle the texture of cold oatmeal. And I won’t do the crockpot version because I prefer to have a variety of breakfasts during the week.

        1. Lori

          No. It stays hot. I just reheat the leftovers on other mornings.

        2. Lisa Eirene

          I didn’t think I’d like cold oatmeal either but it was good…and maybe it was because I used steel cut oats? They were chewy and not mushy.

      2. Lisa Eirene

        That sounds perfect for me.

    2. Lisa Eirene

      I didn’t think I would like cold oats either but I actually really enjoyed it!
      Thanks for the link. My next goal was to try them in the crockpot!

  4. Lisa A.

    I definitely think you will like them even better if they are cooked instead of just sitting in liquid overnight. What I do is cook four portions at once. Just boil water with a pinch of salt (use the ratio given on the bag for the steel cut oats of water to oats). Stir in the oats and boil for a minute. Then cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let it sit overnight. The next morning, the oats are perfect! Then you can jazz them up with fruit, milk, whatever you want. I always reheat it in the microwave the next morning and put the rest in the fridge. If you don’t want to eat oatmeal all week, just take the extra portions and pop them in the freezer. Then you can have it cooked and ready to go anytime. Just defrost in the microwave or a bowl of hot water.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Thanks for the tip! That is a good idea to try, too.

  5. christi in ma

    when I make overnight oats I always heat them up
    sometimes I stirred in protein powder
    I didn’t like the texture of the oats with the yogurt though

    then I realized I could just make a big batch of steel cut oats on the stove the way I like it, put it in jars and have it ready to go for the week. I warm them up in the microwave (take off the metal lid!) and I add some fruit and nuts and a splash of whole milk

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I’m trying your method next week! I even found a crockpot recipe that I want to try for when I go back to work.

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