Cool Breakfast: Refrigerator Oats

Oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast foods.  A steamy hot bowl of oatmeal, sweetened with maple syrup and topped with fresh blueberries and walnuts is a great start on a cold morning.  BUT, not so appealing on a hot summer morning.  

Refrigerator oats or muesli is a cool way to get your oats and fruit and not "sweat it".  

There are lots of recipes for this concoction but here is a simple way to prepare the oats.

The night before, place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of rolled oats (not the quick or steel cut) into a bowl.  Add an equal amount of yogurt.  I used plain Greek yogurt, use what you like or what you have.  To that, add some liquid, 1/4 - 1/2 cup depending on how "soupy" you want your oats.  I used skim milk but you can use orange juice, coconut water, or apple juice.  Use your imagination.  That's it.  BUT you can add chia seeds or milled flax seeds or toasted wheat germ if you like.  Mix it up and cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.  Easy right?

Next morning, time to be creative.  Sweeten the mix with white or brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, pomegranate molasses or the sweetener of your choice. Top your oats with fruit and nuts or whatever you like or have on hand.  I used raspberries, sliced almonds, coconut and pomegranate seeds.  That's it.  Cool and healthy and satisfying.  All the prep is done the night before.  You could easily put this in a container to take to work and have a satisfying breakfast at your desk. 

Here are some additions to consider:

• apple juice for liquid, grated apple and walnuts
• Nutella for a sweetener and sliced bananas
• honey for sweetener, sliced peaches and almonds
• orange juice for liquid, mango and pistachios

What flavors would you try?