It is Monday morning; you are tired from a hopefully fun-packed weekend. The overwhelming fact that this week above all others will be hard is keeping you unmotivated to get up. You capitalize on the little bits of energy that start to surface and go to the gym. You come back hungry for breakfast. What if, instead of that same old cereal, you had a bowl of heart healthy, fiber rich oatmeal waiting for you? What if this oatmeal required little to no preparation, and was sweetened with the ripest of summer’s stone fruits? What if this oatmeal was cold and refreshing, yet satisfying and energy packed?
Welcome overnight, refrigerator oatmeal to your summer mornings. Forget about those kinds that come in a pack and you microwave, forget about standing in front of a burner for ten minutes. This recipe takes minimal effort while gaining all the health benefits. Most of the work goes to remembering to soak oatmeal overnight. And if you want to get fancy, macerate some stone fruit with almonds and vanilla for decadent sweetness. Your summer mornings just got better.; 
Summer Oats
- Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
Enjoy a refreshing bowl of overnight oats, sweetened with ripe summer stone fruits and enriched with the flavors of almond and vanilla.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (20g) steel cut or old fashioned oatmeal
- 1/4 cup (60ml) almond milk (or milk of choice)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 plum
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 5-6 almonds
Instructions
- In a small cereal bowl, combine the almond milk, oatmeal, and a pinch of salt. Stir well to combine.
- Cover the bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to allow the oats to soak and soften.
- When ready to eat, slice the plum into thin slices and add them to the bowl.
- Drizzle the maple syrup over the oats and fruit.
- Add the almond extract and vanilla extract, stirring gently to combine all the flavors.
- Top with almonds for added crunch and enjoy your refreshing overnight oats.
Notes
For a creamier texture, use old fashioned oats instead of steel cut. You can substitute the plum with other stone fruits like peaches or nectarines. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Add more or less maple syrup to taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 50
- Fat: 5
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 0
Mo. I apologize for the typos. I guess when one works 60plus hour weeks, and has the desire share knowledge through a food blog, one is prone to making mistakes. I will be more careful, just for you, next time. I hope you enjoy future recipes as much as I enjoy sharing the results of experiments in the kitchen and passion for food.
I urge you to try the recipe. It is delicious and energizing. And you are right, you can use any nut milk or water, and substitute the almond extract for vanilla if you are not into it. Again, I apologize, must have been tired when I wrote it.Even though I know it is not an excuse.
Sounds tasty, but I’d be more prone to believing the hype about oatmeal being optimal for health and on-ness, never mind just trusting the recipe, if it had been even minimally typo-checked! e.g. “almond or milk or choice”, and “1 teaspoon almond extract / 1 teaspoon almond extract” (guess one should be vanilla, but moreover, that’s double the amount of flavour-extract typically added to a whole batch of cookies? Hmm…) ;-b