Among my children’s less-than-lovely qualities: they treat breakfast time as if they are sitting in a diner with a thirty-page menu, and I am their chef, server, and dishwasher (who is, of course, also tasked with getting them dressed and washed and brushed and out the door by 8:35 on the dot with whatever toy absolutely must be carried to school and then carried back home with me, because toys aren’t allowed in school but no one seems to have internalized that fact).
One of them would like triple-berry pancakes with a side of bacon (extra crispy), and for the other only house-baked muffins and hand-churned cream will do (if you could just zest that fresh lemon real quick it’d be much appreciated, mama). And all of these things must be on the table right. Now. (I am kidding, obviously, but only a little. Seriously, they are SO SPECIFIC.)
I can’t do it. NO ONE could do it.
Enter: the Overnight Oats Breakfast Bar. I’m working with Bolthouse Farms on a couple of little projects at the moment, and decided to experiment by making a simple batch of overnight oats using their plant protein milk (which is vegan and made with 100% pea protein), and then giving it to my kids with a whole bunch of toppings so that they could be as specific and picky as their little hearts desired. Basically, they’d all get the same thing, but they’d *think* that they were each getting their own whatever-it-is-that-they-wanted. (Deception! Manipulation! These are the teachable moments, guys.)
I was expecting the breakfast bar to be delicious and fun and all, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be the massive hit that it turned out to be. They loved it. And the leftover toppings, FYI, make perfect additions to bento-style lunch boxes.
P.S. I love these photos so much. On that note, though, please rest assured that I do not actually separate out the toppings for my kids into sweetly mismatched bowls on the average morning; I may enjoy some adorable tablescape action, but not at the crack of dawn on a Wednesday.
P.P.S. Scroll on down for the recipe.
OVERNIGHT OATS BREAKFAST BAR
What You Need:
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ cup Bolthouse Farms® Plant Protein Milk (I used Unsweetened, but you can use a flavored version if you prefer a little extra sweetness)
What You Do:
Combine all ingredients in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Leave in refrigerator overnight, and remove cinnamon stick before serving. Add a little extra Bolthouse Plant Protein Milk to loosen, if necessary, and serve with assorted delicious things (what you see here: sliced fruit, extra brown sugar, raspberries…and crumbled-up Girl Scout Cookies, ba da daaaaaaaa).
Bolthouse Farms is a sponsor of Ramshackle Glam. Photography by Kim Ebbets.
