18 replies to this topic

[BrewerGeorge]

I've really been loving the overnight oats. I've been experimenting with different combos and thought I'd write some of them down.

 

The basic formula is 1 part old-fashioned oats and 1-1/2 to 2 parts milk.  Adjust to your preferred consistency. The milk can be moo juice or some kind of veg substitute.  I find almond works very well as the subtle nuttiness compliments the oats.  I know steel cut works too, but I haven't tried it and I don't know the ratios or time.

 

I've been making these on Sunday night as meal prep for the coming week.  I bought some Rubbermaid 1.6 cup containers with a leakproof lid that have an optional 'attic' for toppings.  The containers came in a 3-pack, so I either eat something else the other two days for variety or I make another batch on Wednesday night.

 

I have not tried to be exact about Calories, and I don't use artificial sweeteners.  Each pot should be around 400-450 Cal, but there is room to reduce that if you reduce sweetener or use artificial. I generally eat them with a soft boiled egg that I cook during prep on Sunday unless otherwise noted below.

 

Basic Recipe

1/3 cup oats

scant 2/3 cup milk

1 Tbsp sweetener (see below)

pinch salt

 

Old Fashioned

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp raisins (I prefer these mixed in so they swell, but you can put them in the attic and mix at eating if you want them chewy)

pinch cinnamon

couple drops vanilla

 

Apple Cinnamon

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp chopped, fresh apple in the attic

pinch cinnamon

 

Cranberry Orange

1 Tbsp orange marmalade

2 Tbsp dried cranberries (mixed in or in attic to your preference)

Optional: 2 Tbsp chopped or slivered almonds. (I would not eat an egg if I add almonds)

 

Maple Pecan

1 Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp chopped pecans in the attic

 

Chocolate chip

1 Tbsp Hershey syrup

2 Tbsp mini Nestle morsels in the attic

 

Pina Colada

no sweetener needed 

2 Tbsp crushed pineapple in attic

1 Tbsp sweetened coconut mixed in

 

Blueberry Cheesecake

2 Tbsp frozen blueberries in attic

1 Tbsp white sugar sprinkled over blueberries

1/4 cup cottage cheese mixed in

No egg is necessary with this one, and it needs to be eaten after the second day so the blueberries can thaw and macerate a bit. I'm sure strawberries would work but I haven't tried yet.

 

PB&J

2 Tbsp grape or strawberry jelly/jam mixed in

2 Tbsp chopped peanuts in attic (or double and skip the egg)

 

Honey Nut

2 Tbsp good honey

2 Tbsp chopped peanuts in attic (or double and skip the egg)

 

Bakewell

1 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam

2 Tbsp chopped almonds in the attic (or double and skip the egg)

 

 

You get the idea.  

[Stains_not_here_man]

I've been doing some of this myself. I do it by weight-

65g rolled oats
100g milk
15-20g sweetener (I've been doing 20g maple syrup)

[BrewerGeorge]

I've been doing some of this myself. I do it by weight-

65g rolled oats
100g milk
15-20g sweetener (I've been doing 20g maple syrup)

That's a lot stiffer than I'm making mine, I think.  Roughly 3/4 cup of oats and 1/2 a cup of milk right?  I've considered trying 1:1, but I would not have thought 3:2 would be enough liquid.

[Stains_not_here_man]

Yeah, it's fairly stiff. I don't like them too thin. 75g would be 3/4 cup so it's just a little less than that but it's definitely a little closer to oatmeal cookie dough

[BrewerGeorge]

I forgot the Mocha one with instant coffee and Hershey's syrup.

[MyaCullen]

I make mine light, calories yo

 

I do 

 

1/4 cup Rolled Oats

1/4 cup homemade Oat-Cashew milk

1/4 cup water

1 tsp organic sugar or 1 big tsp Jam 

[BrewerGeorge]

I actually added up mine using the labels and they're only about 180 Cal, just sweetened or 250 with an add. Cottage cheese one is pushing 400, though.

Tonight, I made chocolate syrup and chopped, dried cherries for one, and chocolate syrup with chopped almonds for the second. They're new experiences.

[BrewerGeorge]

LOL, I put 'experiments' and autocorrect changed it to 'experiences.' 

 

The cherry one is great.

[porter]

Are the chia seeds somehow transformative? We tried this but didn't have those so just did 1:1 milk and old fashioned oats and a little maple syrup. No one liked them - the oats had kind of a spongy texture. Everyone in the family loves regular cooked oatmeal.

[BrewerGeorge]

Are the chia seeds somehow transformative? We tried this but didn't have those so just did 1:1 milk and old fashioned oats and a little maple syrup. No one liked them - the oats had kind of a spongy texture. Everyone in the family loves regular cooked oatmeal.

I don't use chia.  They are supposed to be really healthy so I tried them, but only once.  Chia and liquid by themselves makes a thick matrix, rather slimy, IMO. I also think that they taste absolutely terrible.

 

It might be worthwhile to try a 2:1 milk:oats ratio one more time.  That's enough that they will definitely fully hydrate, where I'm not sure 1:1 is.  With 2:1 the texture is chewy, not spongy and there is enough extra liquid that the individual groats are separate in the milk. The milk is slightly thickened by beta glucans that come out of the oats so the groats stay mostly suspended while you're eating them.

 

I also like them quite cold, eating them as soon as possible after removing them from the fridge.  That way they remind me of ice cream a bit. They're not as good room temp.

[Stains_not_here_man]

I microwave mine, 35 seconds. I like them warm (not hot), I tried cold a couple times but there's something about cold oats that just isn't right to me.

[Augie1991]

I saw some Mush overnight oats in the fridge section of Costco the other day. I LOVE steel cut oats, not sure if I would like cold oats though? You all make me wanna give them a try..

[MyaCullen]

I microwave mine, 35 seconds. I like them warm (not hot), I tried cold a couple times but there's something about cold oats that just isn't right to me.

I like them hot, 60 seconds for a full half pint jar at fridge temp.

[Stains_not_here_man]

So I've pretty much settled on a final recipe that I've been sticking to.

First: better oats. I buy a bag of Bob's Red Mill "old fashioned" rolled oats and a bag of their "extra thick" rolled oats and I mix them together. I've been experimenting and this provides a good balance of chewy/toothiness.

65g oat mixture
105g Fairlife 2% milk
30g maple syrup

I make it in a pint jar at 7pm and heat in the microwave for 35 seconds before eating at around 5:30-6am.

Bonus: it seems to be having a positive impact on my IBS

It is pretty sweet with that much syrup, most people may not have the sweet tooth I do but it works for me.

[BrewerGeorge]

I'm still eating these almost every week day, and most Sundays before I got to D&D I'll make one with 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 because I know I'll skip lunch.  I'm going to start experimenting a bit with reducing sugar.

[BrewerGeorge]

I've got sugar down by finding a monk fruit/erythritol mix (Splenda branded) that I can tolerate in this application.

 

Now I'm using one packet per pot in place of most of the added sugar I listed above.  Anything that has syrup or jelly as a flavoring component has seen them cut down to about two teaspoons of it plus a sweetener packet.  The blueberry one still needs two packets to work properly with the berries. 

 

Their perceived sweetness is a bit lower, and is carried more by the dried fruits and such, which is generally a more interesting experience than generic 'sweet.'  They're still carb bombs, but the change has pulled about 50 Cal of sugar from them and I like them more than before.

 

I've mostly settled on "old fashioned" above because its the easiest and cheapest; generally 3 of the 5 will be raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Then I'll mix up the other two as something different for change of pace.

[Stains_not_here_man]

I've upped the milk to 130g and switched to using 100% "extra thick" rolled oats. Still using 30g of maple syrup as the sweetener, and about half the time I put in a handful of fresh blueberries.

I find that erythritol has a weird "cooling" sensation but it's irrelevant because my body can't tolerate any sweeter ending in -tol anyway

[BrewerGeorge]

I've upped the milk to 130g and switched to using 100% "extra thick" rolled oats. Still using 30g of maple syrup as the sweetener, and about half the time I put in a handful of fresh blueberries.

I find that erythritol has a weird "cooling" sensation but it's irrelevant because my body can't tolerate any sweeter ending in -tol anyway

This is the only one besides saccharine that I can tolerate at all, and I have to limit its use. I can't eat a bunch of that diabetic candy, for instance, but one of those packets is just a few grams.

[VolFan]

I saw some Mush overnight oats in the fridge section of Costco the other day. I LOVE steel cut oats, not sure if I would like cold oats though? You all make me wanna give them a try..

 

I picked some up earlier today and tried the blueberry, it was pretty good. I can see why people like it.