Blackberry Collard Green Overnight Oats

I've been really into making overnight oats lately, and this is my latest recipe. This version is a deep purple color and has a great tart berry flavor. Something I didn't mention in my last post about overnight oats is that I have been adding Chia seeds to them. Chia seeds function as a thickener in the smoothie base, and nutritionally them are pretty stellar too: "Chia seeds have recently gained attention as an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acid. They are also an excellent source of fiber at 10 grams per ounce (about 2 tablespoons), and contain protein and minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Emerging research suggests that including chia seeds as part of a healthy diet may help improve cardiovascular risk factors such as lowering cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure."(from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic website). I hope you enjoy this new recipe as much as I do. You could probably substitute any green for the collards, I just used them instead of my usual spinach because there were a couple of bunches in the reduced bin at the Co-op.
Blackberry Collard Green Overnight Oats
makes 4 jars
2 bananas
Juice and zest of 1 orange
3 cups almond milk
6 tbs chia seeds
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups frozen blackberries (blueberries work too, but smoothie turns out gray instead of  dark purple, and has less of a  "berry" flavor)
1 bunch collard greens, rinsed and torn from stems
2 cups rolled oats
Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender. Blend until well combined. Pour 1/2 of mixture into a bowl or large measuring cup and set aside (unless you have a huge blender, the finished smoothie won't all fit into the blender at once, so this way you can make it in 2 batches). Add 1 cup blackberries and 1/2 of the collard greens to mixture in blender. Blend until well-combined. Place a 1/2 cup of oats in each jar. Top 2 jars of oats with the blackberry-collard smoothie mixture, stirring as you go. Repeat process with the set aside mixture and remaining blackberries and collard greens. Cover jars and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, top with nuts and unsweetened shredded coconut if desired.

Note: These keep well for several days, so feel free to make the whole 4 jar batch at once, even if you will be the only one eating them. They also make a nice portable breakfast to share with friends and co-workers. Also, this recipe is not especially sweet, so if you like your breakfast sweeter, you might add a little maple syrup to the smoothie mixture.