I’m sure many of you have seen posted all over the web recipes for porridge or refrigerator oatmeal. After seeing it all over Pinterest and various blogs, I decided to check it out and see what all of the hype was about. Once I read about it I realized it would be perfect for Mr. H: it has to sit in the fridge overnight, so he could make a batch of it at night and have a quick and easy meal on days he watches Miss H. And, he loves oatmeal.
Once he made it and loved it (!) we realized that it was absolutely perfect for Miss H. We had been looking for a way to get oats and chia seeds into her diet. Apparently oats are supposed to be a “superfood” for toddlers – they’re high in fiber and keep your energy up. But we hadn’t been very consistent about feeding them to Miss H. We had also recently heard great things about chia seeds – they provide fiber, omega fatty acids, calcium, and protein. However, we hadn’t found a good way to incorporate them into Miss H’s diet.
Enter refrigerator oatmeal! It’s a great combination of yogurt, oats, fruit, and chia seeds. In the evening Mr. H will make a batch for himself (using non-fat yogurt and almond milk) and a smaller batch for Miss H (using full-fat yogurt and whole milk). On days they’re together, Miss H and Mr. H enjoy their refrigerator oatmeal together, and on days Miss H is with her nanny, we just send over a container of this instead of the plain yogurt we used to send. One batch for Miss H is enough for two servings for her.
There are a lot of recipes for refrigerator oatmeal available online. We reference The Yummy Life because they have many different variations using a variety of fruit/flavors (the blueberry maple version has been a favorite as we’ve been buying so many blueberries from the farmer’s market this summer – another superfood!).
Blueberry Maple Refrigerator Oatmeal
from The Yummy Life
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup skim milk (note: we use whole milk for Miss H)
- 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt (note: we use full fat yogurt for Miss H)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup (more or less to taste) (note: we use less syrup for Miss H)
- 1/4 cup blueberries (or enough to fill jar) (note: we cut big blueberries in half before adding for Miss H)
Directions
In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and maple syrup. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add blueberries and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.
Note: some of the versions call for honey, which you may or may not want to feed your LO. You could also just omit the honey and have it be a little less sweet.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Yay! M & I l-o-v-e oatmeal! But I like to use steel cut oats because it’s oats in its more natural state therefore even more nutrition packed than rolled oats! I have a similar recipe from the kitchn that I use for overnight steel cut oats:
http://www.thekitchn.com/oatmeal-in-jars-a-week-of-stee-143623
I actually like to add my fruits the morning of so it’s less soggy. I also add milk to loosen it back up while I reheat in the microwave at work.
coconut / 8234 posts
I love refrigerator oatmeal. I used to eat those instant oatmeal mushy packets for breakfast at work, but I will never go back to those. I realized that I like my oatmeal a little chewy and soaking overnight is perfect. I wish I could get LO to eat it, she doesn’t like the texture of oatmeal. She’ll only eat it if I blend the oatmeal into a smoother texture and I don’t really have time for that.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
nomnomnom looks yummy. love blueberry, and oatmeal has become something i enjoy since pregnancy! (nvr liked it pre-trying it for bfing)
honeydew / 7488 posts
This looks awesome, can’t wait to try it!
pomegranate / 3414 posts
I’ve been eating something similar in an attempt to add oatmeal to my diet for BM production. I don’t use yogurt or chia seeds.
1/2 c thick cut oatmeal
3/4 c skim milk
1T flaked coconut
1 T sunflower seeds
1 T dried cranberries or blueberries (I prefer this to fresh)
honeydew / 7091 posts
I keep forgetting about this!!! I never leave myself enough time to make breakfast – I really need to get back on this! I like adding a little bit of vanilla to it to
@purrpletulips: Love the idea of adding coconut!!
pomegranate / 3729 posts
This looks like a great recipe. I have been trying to find something that I can make ahead of time before we head out the door in the morning (more for me than for P). But, this would be great on the days when I send in her breakfast! I can’t wait to try it. I think I will try a batch of the full-fat version first and then decide if I want to do 2 batches
Thanks for sharing!
@locavore_mama: Do you think I could use steel cut oats in the recipe above? I am going to look at yours, too
Any thoughts on cheapest places to get oats/chia seeds? Trader Joes?
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
so interesting! favoriting this to try
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
This looks delicious! Little P has yogurt and oatmeal every morning for breakfast and I love this idea! We use blackstrap molasses instead of any other sweetener, because it’s naturally high in iron and our pedi recommended it. But, I need to try this refrigerator method!
apricot / 298 posts
@bpcmarj: I get my oats and my chia seeds at Trader Joe’s. I use a slightly different recipe (skinnytaste.com), but it’s a lifesaver in the summer!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Neat Im going to try this
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@bpcmarj: no, I don’t think it will but I’m not 100% sure. The reason being steel cut oats take a lot longer to cook than rolled oats. I think you will need the hot boiling water in the other recipe to cook steel cut oats. It literally takes me 5 minutes to prep like 5 mason jars.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
At first I thought this was gross, then I remembered that Swiss Birchermuseli is made in a way similar to this. I do this often for my son, but I too sub in cooked steel cut oats, they are more substantially filling than rolled oats,