It just so happens that a lot of the fellow foodies I follow in the blogging community are vegetarian, vegan or some other form of very healthy. This is rather hilarious because I’m not vegetarian, vegan or any sort of healthy. But the way that WordPress.com suggests blogs to follow has allowed me to cultivate a blogging community ripe with blogs aimed toward healthy eating and living choices. (Though I do follow a number of baking blogs as well.)

The weird part about constantly swimming in this healthy blogging community is that I find that almost all the vegan, vegetarian or healthy recipes that pop up into my reader really do look good or intrigue me in some way. So much so that I actually want to try these recipes. Almost every type of veggie burger I’ve seen posted recently has made me want to drool.

So, here it is. My first shot at trying a fellow foodie’s healthy recipe (without trying to make it obstinately fattier and/or unhealthy). This recipe is adapted from The Paddington Foodie’s recipe for Overnight Oats in a Jar with Raspberries. My recipe is, of course, slightly more fatty. But I do think my recipe retains most of the (healthy) integrity of the original recipe.

night before ingredients.

• 1 c.  rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
• ½ c. freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 3 T. pecan pieces
• a sprinkling of cinnamon

morning ingredients.

• 1 small apple, coarsely grated (skin on)
• ¼ c. yogurt
• a generous squeeze of lemon
• ½ c. berries (I used raspberries as I had them on hand)

directions.

1. Combine the rolled oats, juice, honey, cinnamon and nuts in a jar or bowl. Stir together to combine.
2. Chill overnight (or for at least two hours).
3. The next morning stir in yogurt, grated apple and lemon juice.
4. Serve  topped with berries, sliced bananas or any other type of topping you may put on your granola or oatmeal.

I was so excited to try this breakfast when I came home empty-handed from a trip to Home Depot (hoping to buy an air conditioner), that I forgot to add both the lemon juice and the grated apple! I’m kind of pissed about that.

As I assembled the dish, however, it was perfectly delicious. The original recipe serves two. I ate the whole thing. When it’s 84 degrees outside at 11 am, you want a cool, simple breakfast like this – one that doesn’t require heating of any kind. It was actually very refreshing to have a cold breakfast. And I felt like I was putting tons of good stuff into my body. I’m waiting for my body to go in shock, in fact. It’s not used to me treating it so well.

I’d love to try this again with the apple and lemon juice. In fact, this would be the perfect breakfast to take with me to work. I could easily assemble it at my desk if I chose to omit the grated apple as I did today. I’m not a breakfast eater during the week. (Coffee is my breakfast.) But this dish might have me changing my mind!

Recipe rating: 