I've always cooked my oatmeal. I'm used to heating it up on the stove and I have to say that doing so sometimes discourages me from having oatmeal even though I like having it for breakfast (We don't own a microwave at home so that premise is moot).
Thank goodness the universe heard me and one day, I read a tweet from one of my tweethearts Bettina (@blissfulcow) wherein she shared that it's possible to eat chilled oatmeal. Hooray! Problem solved!
So here's what I do in creating chilled and no-cook oatmeal in jars:
You need:
2 cups of Oatmeal
180 grams Natural Yogurt
2 cups of Milk
3 tbsp Honey
Fruits (or nuts) to mix in with your oatmeal (to make it a healthier dish)
- this yields 4 jars.
I always opt for the Natural Yogurt as it's less sour. Alternatives to Honey: Maple Syrup, Sugar, Nutella, Peanut Butter.
Mix the oatmeal, yogurt, honey and milk in a bowl.
Freeze and Eat
I make a big batch, enough to fill at least four jars, during weekends and store them inside the freezer. I usually bring a jar to work and eat it for breakfast or morning tea. I finish all four jars in the course of the workweek.
I've read that frozen oatmeal can stay good until about a month. The longest time I've stored oatmeal inside the freezer was two weeks.
The Flexibility of Oatmeal
There are so many things you can add into your oatmeal other than fruits and nuts. You can also make substitutions for the milk (almond milk, soy milk etc) and flavour of your yogurt. You can also omit the yogurt from the recipe if you don't like yogurt. You can add different toppings, syrups and seeds (i.e. chia seeds).
Why I Love It
It keeps me full for longer. It's low in calories but high in fiber, removes bad cholesterol, contains antioxidants and enhances the immune system. It's easy to make and and it tastes good!
