Mandarin Orange Refrigerator Oatmeal

Do you ever have those mornings where things just don't go your way?  You know the kind of morning from hell that I'm talking about.  The kind that comes out of nowhere and slaps you upside your head. 

You never see these chaotic mornings coming, do you?  Your day starts off well.  You get up a little early to have some time to yourself before getting everyone up and at'em.  Time to cuddle with the pooch, catch up on your Pinterest addiction and read a bit.  Ahhhh.  But all that goes awry so quickly it makes your head spin.  You go from a calm and peaceful zen-like place to kids 'not hearing their alarm clock' and you're off the races dealing with a bunch of harried crazy people. 

So, your kids wake up late and when they finally make their way downstairs for breakfast you notice that one boy has only one sock on and his shirt on backwards (the kicker being that he doesn't seem to care), the other boy has bed head to rival Don King's 'do' on a bad hair day and your daughter seems to think the world will fall off it's axis because she can't find the pants that 'feel right'.  Meanwhile, the dog decides to throw up, not on the porcelain tile, but on the shag rug that you adore.  Nice.

BUT, you are a trooper and vow to get this band of misfits back on track!  During all this mayhem you've gotten four lunches made -- a balance between healthy, homemade and a little treat -- only to have hubby come down sheepishly to tell you that 'he forgot to tell you that he doesn't need a lunch today'.  You give him the squinty stink eye but you are able to show restraint and pat yourself on the back for not throwing his roast beef wrap that you just finished making in his face.  You are the epitome of self-restraint and poise {as much as a person in their fluffy bathrobe and requisite bedhead can manage}. 

After that final blip in the chaos that is your morning you pull up your big girl panties to get the job done with such organization and precision that you'd even make Sheldon Cooper impressed! 

With your hubby off to work and your little humans back on track you herd them all out the door asap so you can go back to that zen-like feeling that escaped you a mere hour before.  This is the glamour of motherhood. *sigh* 

Do you ever have insane mornings like this?  Ya, me neither. ;) But some people DO!  It's to those harried people out there where this extemely easy and portable breakfast-to-go can come in handy.  I found this recipe on another blog called The Yummy Life {you can visit that site by clicking HERE}.  This is just one of the many flavours of refrigerator oatmeal that I found on the blog and it's amazing!  The basic recipe is so easy to adapt to different tastes and it's ridiculous just how easy it is to whip up.

Your initial reaction may be 'cold oatmeal?  Blech!' but trust me.  If you're a lover of rice pudding you're gonna love this!  It's creamy with a very slight tang from the Greek yogurt and the addition of little pops of sweetness from the mandarin oranges and the spice of the nutmeg is the icing on the proverbial cake, I tell ya!

I have made it three times in the past week for a loved one who loves it.  This person, who shall remain nameless but whom I adore, has been suffering from horrible mouth/jaw pain making eating very difficult.  This is the main reason why I went on the hunt for an easy oatmeal recipe and why this recipe came in so handy.  Not only is it easy to eat but I can add in things like ground flax and protein powder to ensure that there are extra nutrients in there.

So to those of us you who are part of the harried morning folk I suggest giving this recipe a try.  If nothing else it will be one less thing that you have to deal with during those crazy 'race-out-the-door' mornings.

1/4 cup uncooked quick rolled oats
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt (regular or low fat)
1 1/2 tsp ground flax seed (or dried chia seeds)
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp orange marmelade
1/4 cup canned mandarin oranges, drained and roughly chopped

In a half pint (1 cup) mason jar, add oats, milk, Greek yogurt, ground flax, nutmeg, honey and marmelade.  Put the lid on the jar tightly and shake well until combined.  Remove lid and add oranges; stir until combined.  Return lid to the jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.  Eat chilled.

Recipe inspired by: The Yummy Life