PB&J Overnight Oatmeal

Tasting like everyone’s favourite schoolyard sandwich, this hearty porridge will surely find a very special place in your daybreak food-hungry heart. It’s full of blood sugar-regulating soluble fibre, oats, raspberries, and chia seeds that work together to make sure this morning glory hits the nutritional jackpot. Made by grinding up defatted peanuts, peanut butter powder is a great way to infuse oatmeal (and baked goods!) with lower calorie nutty flavour. Reheat leftovers with a couple splashes of additional milk in a small saucepan.

The new instant oats 

You can settle for soggy instant oatmeal, or you can turn to more satisfying and nutritious steel-cut oats as the backbone for your most important meal of the day. Sounds great, but what about their long cooking time? Soaking your oats overnight is a time-saving hack for yielding porridge with perfect chewy texture in mere moments.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (350 mL) fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries

1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey

2 Tbsp (30 mL) chia seeds

1 cup (250 mL) steel-cut oats

1/3 cup (80 mL) milk or unsweetened dairy-free milk

1/3 cup (80 mL) peanut butter powder

1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon

1/4 cup (60 mL) sliced almonds or unsalted roasted peanuts

1/4 cup (60 mL) coconut chips or flakes (optional)

Directions

For raspberry chia jam, in blender, add raspberries, honey, and 2 Tbsp (30 mL) water, and purée. Place fruit purée in container or bowl and stir in chia seeds. Chill for at least 1 hour to thicken.

The night before, in medium-sized saucepan, place oats, a pinch of salt, and 3 cups (750 mL) water. Bring to a mild boil, immediately turn off heat, cover, and let oats soak overnight at room temperature.

In the morning, stir milk, peanut powder, and cinnamon into oatmeal and heat over medium-low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more milk if required.

Divide oatmeal among serving bowls and swirl in raspberry chia jam. Garnish with peanuts and coconut chips, if using.

Each serving contains: 331 calories; 15 g protein; 11 g total fat (1 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 48 g total carbohydrates (9 g sugars, 12 g fibre); 81 mg sodium