A freezer kit of oats, chia, nut butter and fruit, packed in a bag or mason jar. Add milk the night before, refrigerate, and breakfast is ready in the morning.
Ingredients
Rolled oatsregular or gluten-free
Chia seeds
Spices: up to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice; nutmeg or cardamom only a very small pinch
Vanilla extract (or almond extract): no more than 1/4 teaspoon per jar
Cocoa powder: 1/2 to 1 tablespoon (optional)
Nut buttersuch as almond or peanut: 1 tablespoon
Frozen or fresh fruit: 1/2 cup, large fruit chopped small
Canned pumpkin or sweet potato: 2 tablespoons (optional)
Dried fruit: 1 to 2 teaspoons (optional)
Shredded coconut: 1 to 2 tablespoons (optional)
Added at prep timenot in the kit: about 1/2 cup milk, such as unsweetened coconut or almond milk, plus more so the oats are just covered
Directions
Put all the kit ingredients in a quart or snack-sized freezer bag, or in a mason jar (8 or 16 oz) if you have room in the freezer.
Add a label to the kit and freeze it.
When you want oats, pour the kit into a mason jar if it is not in one already, then add about 1/2 cup liquid.
Stir until the liquid just covers the oats.
Close the lid and chill overnight.
In the morning, stir again and add more liquid if needed.
Notes
Kits freeze up to 6 months. This is a freezer kit, not a shelf-stable gift jar: for a pantry gift jar, leave out the nut butter, fresh or frozen fruit and canned pumpkin and use only dry items (oats, chia, spices, cocoa, dried fruit, coconut). Prepared jars: 3 to 4 days ahead in the fridge. Leave yogurt out of the kit; add it with the milk the night before. Safety: once milk is added, refrigerate at 40 F or below.