Overnight Apple Oatmeal

A healthy breakfast, ready in no time.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I am currently situated in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As most of my family and friends pondered, the question is why. The answer is fairly simple. Both my husband and I have the ability to work remotely; give us wifi and we’re good to go. Since we became empty nesters two and a half years ago, we’ve talked about working somewhere warmer than New Hampshire for a month during the winter. We’re finally doing it.

Now, you may understand our logic but question our location. I, too, initially assumed we’d be in Florida. However, we are thoroughbred owners. We currently have one horse running at Gulfstream in Florida but had two shipping to Oaklawn in Arkansas. Thus, more horses equals more racing with a personal interest. Plus, we’d heard lots of good things about Hot Springs. Seven days into this stay, I can confirm that it’s a great town filled with incredibly friendly people.

Now that my personal logistics have been clarified, let’s talk about food. Or perhaps the trickiness of cooking while not at home. We are staying at a condo that we’ve rented for the month, so I do have a full kitchen. However, it’s not my kitchen. Like any rental, it’s not certain exactly what utensils and tools will be at your disposal until you’re here. So, for the sake of simplicity and to get the kitchen stocked with breakfast food, I decided to start with something easy.

Overnight Apple Oatmeal was my first thought. Having just made Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal, I was thinking of even more simple versions of overnight oatmeal. This recipe is about as easy as they get. Combine all of the ingredients and put it in the fridge overnight. If you want, that can be the end of breakfast prep. This oatmeal is perfectly ready to eat the next morning just as it is.

BUT if you want to put in just the tiniest pinch more of effort, you can make it even more amazing. Dice an apple, stir it into the oatmeal, and then heat in the microwave. Then you have this piping hot bowl of creamy oatmeal with semi- crunchy bites of apple. Of course, if it’s hot where you are, feel free to eat it cold. Don’t add the apple, if you’re so inclined. It still has apple flavor from the applesauce.

Personally, my current favorite version is hot with diced apples. Once it warms up some more here in Hot Springs, I may switch to the cold version. Either way, it’s a simple, healthy start to my day!