I'm back...with oatmeal goodness.

My little hiatus went a bit longer than I anticipated.  We had a family friend have some medical issues that threw me for a loop.  He spent most of August in the hospital, but, thankfully he is home and on the mend.

Blockette is enjoying the third grade.  For some reason, this year, more than others, I'm finding that I'm missing her.  Don't get me wrong.  It's not that I didn't miss her in years past, while she was at school.  I think this summer we were busier than normal, so we didn't have a chance to get sick of spending all day, every day with each other.

My illustrious career as a crossing guard has been interesting this year as well.  School starts later in the day this year, so at the end of the day the parents are antsy to get home or something.  I've had more than my share of near misses, and school hasn't even been in session for a full month yet.

I've also been having issues with my knees.  Basically, my knee caps aren't tracking correctly and they pop out when I try to do little things like walking.  Let me tell you, this is not a fun ailment to have when your job is basically walking for 45 min twice a day.  I've been extremely cranky and that makes me not want to blog, or clean or do anything except eat chocolate covered almonds.  But, I'm working on strengthening the muscles around my knee, and finally found a knee brace that isn't so huge that it could pass for a skirt.  I can actually get stuff done again. So a blogging we will go...

Let's talk about breakfast.

Like many people, I don't have a lot of time for a fancy breakfast.  When I get up I water the plants, make Mr. Blocko and Blockette's lunch, eat and then head out the door to work.  A few years ago I used to just eat a bowl of cereal, then started having digestive issues so  I switched to Yogurt and granola.  Not only did it not change the digestive issues, but the sugar levels in the yogurt and granola left me feeling shaky and twitchy.  My Dr said dairy was the cause of my digestive problems, so I should limit the amount of milk products I consume in a day.  I went to just eating toast.  This was all fine and dandy until last spring when I got a bike and rode to work.  That toast just didn't give me enough fuel.

Then I tried almond milk.  It wasn't so bad, so I started having regular cereal again.  However, I found that I didn't feel satisfied from that either.  I was toying with the idea of eating hot oatmeal, but at the time it was nearing summer.  The idea of eating something hot didn't appeal to me one bit.

But oatmeal doesn't have to be eaten hot.  Did you know you can eat it cold as well?

source

I had no idea!

And get this...I don't even cook it.  Not at all!

Cold Overnight Oatmeal - serves 1
1/2 c oatmeal (I like quick cooking, but old fashioned works as well)
1/2 c milk (I use unsweetened almond milk as I'm trying to keep the AM sugars in check)
1/2-1 T semi sweet chocolate chips

Before you go to bed at night, combine all the ingredients in a container, making sure all the oats are covered by the milk.  I like the small round ziploc brand containers, but a bowl with plastic wrap will do the trick as well. Stick that bad boy in the fridge and in the morning, just add a splash or two of milk to get the consistency of your preference.  That's it.  You can really add anything you like, but for me, just a pinch of chocolate chips gives me the hint of sweetness I crave, without going overboard. The chocolate chips soften up in the milk overnight as well.  They still have a little bit of bite to them, but they aren't rock hard like you think they might be from sitting in the fridge.