Chocolate Coconut Overnight Oats

There are a few posts rolling around in my head and lots of photos on my camera but life has been busy and this blog has been on the back burner for a bit. So this long overdue post is thanks to Gabby and a recipe she pinned on Pinterest. We messaged a bit about the ingredients and the more I looked things over the more I knew I wanted to try one.

She sent me this link from Monica at The Yummy Life which give recipes for several overnight refrigerator oatmeal breakfasts made in small mason jars. Each recipe is based on oats, chia seeds, milk, Greek yogurt and honey. The variations included chopped fruits, cocoa and other goodies. She just adds each ingredient to the jar, screws the lid on and gives it a good shake. The next morning you pull them out of the fridge and there's breakfast. Everyone one of her variations looked wonderful. As I followed the links from post to post I found out this is a pretty popular breakfast.

Look at this one The Yummy Life linked from this one from Christie at Pepper Lynn - pumpkin peanut butter??

Pepper Lynn linked - Angela of Oh She Glows Carob Banana Chia Vegan Overnight Oats and Kath of Kath Eats Real Food's recipes including yummy strawberry banana version.

Just checking out each of the sites above was fun, informative and very distracting - all but one was new to me and I'll be spending more time checking out all of them.

I really love the idea of all the healthy ingredients, the quick mixing and the fact we can have an instant breakfast in the morning with such a short time investment the night before. But cold oatmeal? I wasn't so sure about it but was willing to give it a try.

This is the one that caught my eye from the original Yummy Life post - chocolate and banana. The single serving jars in the recipe are such a great idea if you need a breakfast on the run. I chose to make it in my Vitamix and quadrupled the recipe. I thought a smoother texture would be more appealing to me.

My only real sub was coconut milk since we don't use regular milk.  It was really delicious.  Cold oatmeal may take a bit of getting used to but it's almost like chocolate pudding for breakfast.

Because I really don't tolerate fruit well I decided to make another batch with a chocolate peanut butter combination. Quadrupling the recipe again I just subbed approximately one cup of peanut butter for the banana. I thought it was creamy and delicious but I will be honest - I was informed that not everyone is a fan of cold oats here.

While I really liked the chocolate peanut butter I wanted to try something completely dairy free.  I used coconut milk, shredded coconut and a bit of coconut oil for a nice punch of coconut. I probably should have left out the cocoa for something really different but I couldn't make myself do it. This is far and away my favorite blend.

Again I whirled everything but the oats in the Vitamix but you can mix this up anyway you like. In a blender, in a bowl with a spoon or you could use a very large jar and shake everything up. If you're concerned about the chia seed texture but want to keep the protein and other health benefits I'd use the blender. Here's how I did it:

Chocolate Coconut Overnight Oats

1 can Coconut Milk (15 - 16 ounce)
1 cup Water
1 cup Shredded Coconut
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
4 Tablespoons Raw Honey
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats

Put everything but the oats into a Vitamix (or regular blender) and mix until well incorporated.  Pour the mixture over the oats, stir and cover. Refridgerate overnight.

Makes four servings and can be topped with more shredded coconut or, as Gabby suggested - chocolate chips!

Enjoy!