My new obsession is overnight oatmeal. I've tried it with regular milk and yogurt, just milk, and just almond milk. All are good, it just depends on what you're in the mood for. The version with yogurt is richer and also higher in calories, but also with the added protein from the yogurt. The unsweetened almond milk version is definitely lower in calories. I go for the unsweetened, plain almond milk to avoid added sugars and additives. It actually tastes good and I don't really like very sweet oatmeal anyway.
The yogurt recipes on
this site -The Yummy Life -were recommended to me and they're great. Also, at the top of the article, click the link to more versions. I've made the version with apricots (with almond milk) and the apple cinnamon one with milk and yogurt. I've added frozen berries and fresh apples other times, and I've used both chia seeds and ground flax seeds.
Chia seeds
The first time I tried chia seeds I followed a recipe without reading about them. 2 tbsp of chia seeds caused some serious stomach bloating and gas (sorry) that lasted about two days. I've since cut back to about 1 tsp per serving and make sure to drink a lot of water. There's a lot of info online about chia. The health benefits are great. From
WebMD, "
Enjoy chia seeds for their flavor and to boost the fiber, protein, calcium, antioxidants, and omega-3s in your diet."
The nice thing about soaking them overnight is they absorb all that liquid and then they don't expand as much in your stomach. I recommends starting off with a small amount. The recipes at The yummy life above are pretty reasonable.
Apricots and add-ins
Chopped dried apricots soaked overnight turn a nice soft consistency and are very flavorful. They're pretty sweet so there's not much need for additional sweetener. I tend to skip the sweetener and get that from ten added fruit. The one time this failed was with a pumpkin oatmeal recipe. That one really needed some sugar.
Does anyone have any other suggestions for oatmeal mix-ins?
