Zak’s Overnight Oatmeal Recipe
Scroll down if you just want the recipe. The part below tells the full story.
Here it is, folks. The breakfast that I have eaten every morning for the last 4 years. My oatmeal story begins all the way back in 2017 when I was an athlete-student at Northern Michigan University.
2017 was my sophomore year. After an entire year of eating Frosted Mini Wheats and powdered eggs breakfast one year prior as a freshman, I decided it was time to UPGRADE my breakfast to something more aligned with my goals as a skier. I landed on oatmeal as the logical replacement breakfast-of-choice.
Oatmeal Version 1.0: Oatmeal, water.
The year started with a few weeks of me choking down the plain oatmeal at the NMU dining hall every morning. It wasn’t good. I needed to add some life to the mix.
Oatmeal Version 2.0: Oatmeal, honey, mixed nuts, cinnamon, milk.
God Bless America!!! Using milk instead of water makes a BIG difference. You wouldn't have cereal with water, so why the hell would you have oatmeal with water? The honey provided the sweetness and the nuts provided some crunch. The cinnamon gave it a great flavor. The mix was greatly improved and I kept it this way for quite a while. A lot of time passed, and I somehow got a girlfriend (Julie). We spent a lot of time together and I picked up some of her eating habits. This led to the next evolution.
Oatmeal Version 3.0: Oatmeal, honey, mixed nuts, cinnamon, milk, frozen blueberries, cottage cheese.
Yes, cottage cheese. This update was by far the most life changing one. The frozen blueberries made the mix infinitely better. When paired with the honey, the berries make it super sweet (in a good way). The cottage cheese added some much-needed protein to the mix and also makes the mix super creamy. I was now seriously looking forward to breakfast every morning. The mix was nearly perfect. Only a few small tweaks needed to be made to lead to the final evolution.
Oatmeal Version 4.0 (Current Version): Oatmeal, honey, mixed nuts, cinnamon, frozen blueberries, cottage cheese, soy milk, sliced yellow banana, a pinch of salt.
I found out at some point that milk is not good for my stomach. I still prefer the taste of cow’s milk, but soy milk is the best tasting alternative I have found and it agrees with me more. The sliced banana adds that last bit of sweetness that puts the mix into the S-tier. And do NOT sleep on the pinch of salt. I actually notice when I forget this part. It brings out the full taste in all of the ingredients.
RECIPE:
A quick disclaimer that this recipe is for the cold, OVERNIGHT version of my oatmeal.
INGREDIENTS:
No need for exact amounts, pretty basic ingredients that you buy in bulk.
Old-fashioned Oatmeal
Just buy the cheap store brand
Silk Unsweet Organic Soy Milk
Or substitute the milk you like
Frozen Blueberries
Can be the big or the little ones, but have to be frozen, not fresh. If you use fresh then you didn’t follow this recipe.
Cottage Cheese 2%-4% milk fat
Any less than 2% tastes like water
Banana
The more yellow the better, green ones are terrible for this
Creamy Peanut Butter
Don’t worry if you’re allergic, this one is optional
Honey
Wildflower honey tastes better than clover honey
Cinnamon
Salt
DIRECTIONS:
Disclaimer that I am at a team camp in Canada right now so some of the pictures will have slightly different ingredients due to what I had available to me in our fridge.
REMEMBER, THESE ARE OVERNIGHT OATS, SO DO THIS JUST BEFORE YOU GO TO BED, ex. AT LIKE 9 PM.
Find a pretty big bowl. Like a cereal bowl, but not one of those shitty shallow ones. I hate those because they always overflow and make a mess.
Fill the bowl with a good amount of old-fashioned oats
3. Pour milk on top of the oats until it looks like this
4. Dump some frozen blueberries on top of the oats and milk (pictured here is a 3 berry mix, I usually prefer only blueberries)
5. Cut banana slices into the bowl like this (can just use a spoon)
6. Add some nut mix (I didn’t have nut mix so I just used walnuts. The Omega-3 Nut mix tastes way better).
7. Add a couple of spoonfuls of cottage cheese on top
8. Add a decent amount of honey. I just squeeze it and draw like 4 circles. Don't skimp on the honey.
9. Add the pinch of salt.
10. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter.
11. Stir it with a normal spoon and be careful because it will make a huge mess if you aren’t. Here is where the big bowl I told you to use will be helpful.
12. Put it in the refrigerator and DEVOUR in the morning!
And that’s it. It will be completely ready to eat in the morning. Trust me. There is nothing better than waking up early in the morning with the knowledge that your breakfast is already made. It’s just a better way to live. You prepare it at night while you still have energy and it’s ready to go in the morning when you’re still half-asleep.
I hope this recipe helps you! Let me know what you think! This oatmeal changed my life and I hope it can help you too.
