Would you believe that there was once a day when I didn't know what OIAJ was? Yes, I remember that day. Of course, at the time, I didn't know that it was one of the most amazing inventions in the food world. I was at the gym that day, running on the treadmill, when two of my running friends were talking about how much they liked Oatmeal in a Jar. They were going on, and on, and on about this thing until I finally said, "Okay, what in the world is Oatmeal in a Jar?" They looked at me like I was crazy. They couldn't believe that I didn't know what it was.
They explained that they heard about it from Kath Eats Real Food and that it was an amazing and easy way to eat oatmeal. All you do is take an almost empty jar of nut or seed butter, add some oatmeal and other goodies, shake it up, and put the full jar in the fridge overnight. Then, when you wake up in the morning, you just take the jar out and eat the now ready oatmeal. No need to cook it. No kidding!
I seriously thought they were crazy. Really? Because eating uncooked oatmeal did not sound yummy to me. Time went on, as it usually does, and lo-and behold what do I have in my hands? An almost empty jar of peanut butter, and, of course, like the rational person that I am, I immediately think of Oatmeal in a Jar.
So there I was, holding an almost empty jar of peanut butter, having the urge to make OIAJ, but there was one problem. I had no idea how to make OIAJ. Sure, I knew that it involved putting oatmeal in a jar, silly, but it couldn't be that simple, right? There had to be a recipe or a special technique or something.
So I Google it. I go back to Kath Eats Real Food. I Google it again and decide, "What the heck. I'll just make up a recipe with things that I have laying around the kitchen." So in the almost empty jar of peanut butter, I added:
- 1/2 cup of old fashioned whole oats
- 3/4 cup rice milk
- 1 tablespoon of raisins
- 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds.
The next morning, I added some sweetener to the jar, stirred it up, and ate it. It was really yummy. It was so yummy that everyone else in the house that was listening to me going on, and on, and on about how yummy it was, wanted one too. Well, it's not like we have a whole lot of almost empty jars of nut or seed butters laying around in the refrigerator. So I had to promise that we would take turns eating OIAJ each time we had an empty jar of nut butter.
Everything goes fine with the next two jars, but only if you consider fighting over OIAJ as everything going fine. Googie gets one. Bubba gets the next one. Then, the third jar. Not to be left out, Hubby wanted his own OIAJ. So I made one for him with dried cranberries, milk, and crushed pecans.
Next morning comes along and as the kids and I are leaving the house, Googie is frantically pointing and yelling, "Mom, Mom, Mom look what Dad is doing. Look now. Look!" So I look and see Hubby emptying the OIAJ contents into a microwave bowl. "He just doesn't get it, does he, Mom?"
"Honey, it's called Oatmeal in a Jar not Oatmeal That Was in a Jar Then Dumped Into a Glass Container, Microwaved, and Eaten Out of a Bowl. You just don't get it! Yikes, I could have just made "normal" oatmeal for you and given the OIAJ to someone that really appreciated it."
So, now, we are back to fighting over the next OIAJ. I'm not sure who will get the next one, but I'm certain I know who won't be getting OIAJ for quite some time...
