If you follow any food blogs – especially vegan food blogs – everyone is into these “overnight oats.” Basically there a hundreds of versions out there of the same concept: throw your oats, nut milk, and other ingredients in a bowl, soak them overnight in the fridge, and you have breakfast the next morning.

Brilliant concept, except for the fact that I like my oatmeal warm.

After playing around with various recipes and techniques, I have come up with my own take on the overnight oat love affair…

Banana Chia Seed Pudding

When chia seeds are soaked, they produce a gel around them, making it perfect for a pudding-like snack or dessert. I LOVE this snack so much, I think about it during the day and can’t wait to get home to eat it! Because of the oats, nuts and chia seeds, it isn’t perfectly smooth like pudding, but that doesn’t bother me!

Put the ingredients in you blender…you can put them in a bowl and then transfer them to the blender in the morning – but who needs another dish to clean!

Lightly stir them…

Blend until creamy…

Add your toppings. I added a little granola, some sliced banana, and maple syrup. This is an excellent time to add a little more sweetness if you didn’t quite get it right in the blender.

Sometimes I add a spoonful of almond butter, which is amazing!

Sometimes I add strawberries and crumble my homemade granola bar on top, which is delightful.

Don’t you just want to eat this?

Banana Chia Seed Pudding

• 1 small VERY RIPE banana (if only semi ripe, you may need to add a little more sweetener)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup oats
• 10 raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons honey (you could use agave nectar or stevia too)
• Topping ideas: maple syrup, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, granola, nuts, raisins…

Throw the ingredients in your blender. (Have I told you that I want to make out with my Vitamix blender? He is so dreamy…) Lightly stir, put the top on, and soak in the refrigerator overnight! The next day, blend until really creamy. Add your toppings and enjoy! Makes two servings.