3 ways to make breakfast in a jar

Mason jar meals are the new lunchboxes. You can put all kinds of meals in these compact containers, from salads to smoothies to burrito bowls. For now, we'll just focus on breakfast.

Quick and convenient, here are three breakfast-in-a-jar ideas. 

Overnight oats

Overnight oats are the lazy man's oatmeal, but the taste doesn't disappoint. 

The idea is that the chia seeds expand overnight in the milk and oats, resulting in a thick and creamy texture. You can then add whatever sweetener you like, such as maple syrup. 

You don't really need a recipe - all you need to remember is that the ratio for oats to milk is 1:1. From there, you add a tablespoon of chia seeds and the amount of sweetener you want. I like to add a mashed banana to make it even thicker and sweeter.

Here's a peanut butter overnight oats recipe to get you started.

Soft serve "ice cream"

This can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. For the base, all you need is frozen bananas (peel and chop before you put them in the freezer!), and then throw them into your blender or food processor.

Add a couple tablespoons of water or milk to make it blend faster.

You can add cacao powder, peanut butter, or vanilla extract for other flavors, and whatever frozen fruit you desire to make it more of a thick smoothie. 

Chia seed pudding

The chia seeds here do the same thing as they did in the overnight oats, except now they're the main ingredient.

Layer your chia seed pudding with your favorite banana ice cream, or make it into a parfait with fruit and granola.

This basic chocolate chia seed pudding recipe will get the ball rolling.