Servery Creation: Overnight Oats

By Farrah Madanay     4/19/12 7:00pm

As we trudge through finals, healthy food choices take a backseat to late-night munchies and post-all-nighter breakfast feasts. Though the chocolate muffins at Baker College Kitchen satiate our palettes with stress-relieving cocoa, and we convince ourselves that the heaps of bacon piled onto our plates simply fulfill the protein quota in our diets, the truth is these servery options do little in helping us achieve that poolside figure for the upcoming summer season.

Of course, body image is a superficial motivator in comparison to the well-rehearsed, heart-healthy benefits that a balanced breakfast entails. However, healthy food choices are all too often subordinated to both convenience and taste.

The continental breakfast options of oatmeal, yogurt, bagels and grapefruit are as appealing to our stomachs as wine the night after Bacchanalia.

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Brown College junior Grace Serio has a lot more pep in her step on her way to her 9 a.m. classes than most students because she has found a happy medium between indulging in breakfast sweets and succumbing to a daily pattern of bland, conventional healthy options.

The evening before her early morning classes, Serio concocts what she calls "overnight oatmeal," an innovative take on the breakfast staples of oatmeal and yogurt. With a few moments of planning the night before, you too can create this easy staple.

 Process:

Overnight Oatmeal does not need to be cooked, but requires a quick preparation time of less than five minutes and a nightlong wait.

First, select a packet of your desired rolled-oats oatmeal flavor and delicately pour it into a cup. The key is to pick a low-sugar variety to maintain the healthy balance.

Next, pour an entire container of yogurt into the cup of raw oats. The yogurt may either be greek or regular, flavored or plain, but if you opt for a plain yogurt, be sure to add a dash of sugar, Splenda or honey.

You can be creative with your add-ins, but Serio recommends raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries and any of the nuts from the pecan, almond and walnut dispensers.

Complete your oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon and most importantly, pour in about a teaspoon of water or milk to create a creamy consistency.

Stir the oatmeal and leave it in your dorm refrigerator overnight. The oatmeal congeals and absorbs the yogurt while in the fridge so that by dawn the mixture has the texture and taste of rice pudding.

Overnight oatmeal offers a refreshing alternative to the servery scones and salty bacon. While these snacks taste good during caffeine-fueled binge study sessions, they can leave behind a deadly trail of empty calories.

High in protein and low in calories, calcium-packed and rich in whole grains, this oatmeal will surely slim you down to that desired swimsuit bod by summer break.

 f you have any suggestions, comments or favorite servery recipes, please email Reed Thornburg at rst4@rice.edu.

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