No Peanut Butter Left Behind

Peanut butter is an amazing food. In fact, all nut butter should form a food group, and we should all visit this food group every day. I'm a bit of a connoisseur of nut butters now. My favorite peanut butter is Trader Joe's organic salted smooth peanut butter, but at $3.49 a can, it's a bit pricey. Costco sells a private-label natural peanut butter that's quite a bit cheaper and is a close second as well.

But when the jar is empty, the party isn't over. In an effort to not waste anything, I enjoy some overnight oats in a jar. The basics stay the same: mix a 1/2 cup old fashioned oats and a 1/2 cup water in the empty jar, then I shake the jar and refrigerate it overnight. In the morning, add toppings and enjoy.

Here's a few combos I tried this week:

Peanut butter jar + oats + chopped walnuts + bananas

Nutella jar + slivered almonds + strawberries

Almond butter jar + chopped walnuts + cinnamon + raisins + apples

My favorite? The almond butter jar, for sure. Because the jar was glass, I heated it up in the microwave. The raisins swelled overnight with the oats and there were lots of textures with the skin of the apples and the hint of cinnamon. Best of all, this method makes oatmeal fast and portable for busy mornings.