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.

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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.