Now that I work in a marketing agency, I am back to packing breakfasts, lunches and snacks. This company is very progressive, which means they plan lots of fun modern & quirky activities and team-building aspects into their daily culture. We have a cereal bar, and on Wednesday’s we write funny haiku poems. Some people have Nerf guns under their desk and there’s already been a few occasions where dogs are roaming the office. So we also don’t have traditional cubicle-style office spaces. I share a large conference room with six other project managers. We each have our own work station with two monitors and plenty of storage underneath, but there’s no real separation. I’m a fan of this set-up because it makes conversation throughout the day easy, but two things to consider are the lack of barriers for noise and food odor.

I noticed right away that no one seems to eat their meals at their desks, which is super considerate to not bring in food odors (good or bad) to the communal space. My breakfasts tend to be Oatfit oatmeals which have a strong maple smell (it’s delicious!) with added cinnamon, maybe some powdered peanut butter, and sliced banana. My point is, it’s pretty aromatic. In a good way, but still. I realized that if I want to eat breakfast at my desk it better be less obvious for their rest of my office-mates. So I started preparing overnight oats at home, and I’m loving the alternative! Especially during the summer when I don’t necessarily want something hot.

I’m not reinventing the wheel here, as there are hundreds of overnight oat recipes with fun and fancy flavors. There are a couple varieties I’m going to try out next week like carrot cake and mocha swirl.

This batch is made with non-fat Greek yogurt for extra protein, stevia for sweetness, almond milk for consistency, and fresh berries because it’s peak season. Then I whipped up some PBFit (life-changing powdered peanut butter)  to make a “PB&J” flavor. Super fun, no?

Lighter Peanut Butter & Jelly Overnight Oats:

Makes 1 serving

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (any milk will due)
• 1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• fresh berries
• 1 serving of powdered peanut butter made extra thin (I used 2 tablespoons of powder with 1.5 tablespoons water)

1.) Using a large enough container to accommodate the expanding oats, combine the oats, almond milk, yogurt, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and flax seed.

2.) Mix together the peanut butter and swirl into the cup of oats.

3.) Top with fresh berries (the juicier, the better!) and I threw on a tablespoon of rice crispies just for fun.

4.) COVER with a lid or foil, and let refrigerate overnight. Enjoy the next morning! :)

Did anyone else ever buy Goober Grape jellies…? We were just talking about these because they were a staple for our camping trips when I was little. It’s a single jar that contains both peanut butter AND jelly in a swirly design and I thought it was the coolest as a kid. It’s got it’s own funky unique flavor and I don’t think I’d enjoy it quite as much now that I have a little higher food-quality standards but it will always remind me of summer camping trips on the beach.

Let me know if you have any favorite overnight oat toppings, and you can find more work snacks and meals here: What’s in My Lunch Box.

:)