Oats Overnight oatmeal review

REVIEW – Ah food!  I love eating food!  I hate making food!  Breakfast is usually the worst meal of the day for me when I was commuting.  I was either eating some kind of protein bar or going through a drive-thru of a restaurant which is super bad for me.  Now that I am working from home, I do tend to give myself a few more choices.  I have always loved oatmeal, but never really made it when I had to go into the office.  I love steel cut oats and the instant oatmeal packets did not make the cut for me.  I have made overnight oats at home before, but keeping everything in stock to make them was always a hassle.  Oats Overnight promises to take that hassle away and give you a tasty and filling breakfast.  Read on and let’s see how they make out.

What is it?

Oats Overnight are packages of premixed oatmeal, protein (pea or whey), various fruits, and other natural ingredients that you add milk or a milk substitute to in the evening in order to make an oatmeal shake ready to drink in the morning.

What’s in the box?

I was sent a box of their eight packet variety packs.  It included an assortment of flavors and their mixing bottle.  All of these mixes have either pea or whey protein.  They offer the same flavors in a pea protein for people who are vegan and whey for those of us who do not care.

• One mixing bottle
• Peach Upside Down Cake mix
• Green Apple Cinnamon mix
• Strawberries and Cream mix
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana mix
• Mocha Dream mix
• Maple Pancakes mix
• Blueberry Cobbler mix
• Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cacao Crunch mix

Food specs

The next three pictures show you the detail on the back of the blueberry cobbler,  peach upsidedown cake, and mocha dream.  They all have close to 300 calories without any type of milk substitute.  As a matter of fact, the front of their packaging says ‘just add mylk’ to emphasize using a low-calorie milk substitute.  The coffee one does have actual coffee in the mix.  There are also real blueberries and peaches in the others.  Anything with fruit will have the actual fruit inside.

Setup

Setup is very simple and that’s what I love about the Oats Overnight packets.  I am not pulling out packages of oats, chia seeds, protein powder, and other ingredients.   I simply took their mixing bottle pictured below and filled it up with my milk to the fill line.  The fill line will allow the mix to have 8 ounces of beverage.  I happened to use low-fat milk.  Yes, I added another 100 calories to the mix.  I normally use fat-free, but the grocery store was out of it so it was what I got.  The company recommends using something like almond milk or even coconut milk (which will change the flavor) for a lower-calorie beverage.

I then opened the package of the blueberry cobbler mix and took a peek inside.  Because the blueberries are heavier, all I could see was the protein powder mix.

Next, I poured the packet into the bottle.  The picture below shows the results after the pour.  Now you can see the oats.

I then gave it a good shake to mix the ingredients and placed the bottle in the refrigerator overnight.  The picture below shows the bottle after shaking.

The next morning I got up and opened the bottle to see what it looked like.  You can see how the blueberries popped up to the top and were plumper.

I then put the cap back on the bottle.  Be careful here.  If you happened to have opened the drinking cap, be sure you really pressed down hard until you hear a snap to make sure it is closed.  Improper closing of that cap can result in some nice spillage when you shake the bottle.  Don’t ask how I know this!  The picture below shows the mix after it is all shaken up.  You can see that it is pretty liquid and not like traditional oatmeal.

Taste

Oats Overnight provides a bottle to make the oatmeal shake in with a drinking cap for a reason.  That is because you can literally drink the oatmeal the next morning.  This makes it very convenient if you are driving to work and wanting to eat your breakfast then.  It is also nice to be able to pick up the bottle off your desk and take a sip while continuing to work.  They say you can also eat with a spoon if you wish, but I found I was able to get almost every last drop out of the bottle by drinking it.

What was the taste like?  I found it very tasty.  Every flavor I tried I would eat again.  The blueberry was very blueberry tasting with a vanilla aftertaste.  I loved the texture of the oats and I found myself chewing the mouthful of drink every time.  This may turn some people off, but I personally love the texture.  I tried the strawberries and cream, green apple cinnamon, peach upside-down cake, and maple pancakes.   I liked them all.  You definitely tasted the maple syrup in the maple pancakes.  I also really tasted the strawberries and apples.  The only mix where the fruit seemed subdued was the peach upside-down cake.  It was still good, but the predominant flavor for me was the vanilla, while in the other drinks, I always tasted the fruit first.  I had my husband try the Mocha Dream because I personally loathe coffee.  I took a small sip of it, and all I could taste was the coffee flavor.  My husband loved it and said he would drink it again.  I also don’t like peanut butter (yea I am weird) and my husband is allergic to peanuts so I gave the two packets to a friend to try.   He said they both tasted great, but he personally prefers to mix his own oats overnight.

I will admit that buying your own oatmeal, frozen or fresh fruit, protein powder, chia seeds, and whatever else you like might be cheaper in the long run.  I, however, know that I always have a hard time keeping what I need in stock.  I only want something like this maybe once or twice a week and the stuff I buy to make it manually will often go bad before I get to use it all.

I think because these meals are a bit higher on the calorie side, I did not find myself wanting a snack or early lunch when I ate them.  I normally will eat a protein bar or shake for breakfast around 8 am.  By the time 10:30 rolls around I am thinking about wanting something else to eat.  That never happened for me with these oats.  I think in the end, I end up eating fewer calories because I am not tempted to snack on foods I should not.

What I like

• convenient – just use a packet and the 8oz of a beverage of your choice
• filling – I am not tempted to snack before lunch
• Easy to eat – just sip and chew
• cost is only $3.26 per meal with a subscription from Amazon or Oats Overnight or $3.62 without it.  Much cheaper than drive-thru food.
• The meal is gluten-free, high fiber, and low sugar
• They offer pea protein versions for people who are vegan or just don’t like whey protein

What needs to be improved

• Nothing that I can think of

Final thoughts

I loved Oats Overnight so much that I now have a subscription to them on Amazon.  I am getting 8 packets of the blueberry cobbler sent to me once a month.  I think Oats Overnight are an economical, filling, tasty and easy way to get your breakfast in the morning.  I recommend trying them out for yourself.

Price: Various prices depending on what you order.  You can get 8 packets for $29.99 or $26.10 if you subscribe.
Where to buy: Amazon or Oats Overnight
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Oats Overnight