Baked Oatmeal

I recently went on a Daniel Fast. For anyone who doesn't know what that is I will describe it briefly for you. Basically you eat fruits, veggies, whole grains (like brown rice and oats), and beans. So for someone who enjoys food as much as I do, this can be incredibly difficult. The plus side is that I feel awesome! I feel spiritually, mentally, and physically very clean and focused. I am however, looking forward to enjoying foods that I wasn't able to eat, but I thought I would share a few recipes that I tried while on the fast with you.

This baked oatmeal is divine. It is seriously so delicious, nutritious and makes a whole 9x13 pan (which my roommate and I ate in 2 days).

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

3 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup dried fruit*

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

*You can use apricots, raisins, dates, cherries. Whatever suits your fancy. Just make sure to get dried fruit that does not have sugar added to it. You might have to go to a health foods store to find it.

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a 9x13 that has been lightly greased with olive oil. Bake at 350*F for 40-50 minutes or until slightly browned on top. Serve warm with some peanut or almond butter on top. You could also serve this with some baked apple slices or fresh fruit like pineapple.

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 ish Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups old fashioned oats
raisins
chopped dark chocolate

Cream together sugar and butter. Add applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Mix well. Add baking soda, flour and oats. Mix in raisins and chopped dark chocolate. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. And enjoy. I also added some peanut butter to this latest batch. Enjoy!!

oatmeal

I love oatmeal. There was about 3 months of my life that I ate oatmeal every single morning for breakfast, and while I don't have that kind of devotion to it any more, I still love a good bowl of oatmeal. This is how I make mine.


In a saucepan combine the appropriate amounts of old fashioned oats and water or milk as well as a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg, a handful of chopped pecans and some honey. Allow this to cook over medium heat until it thickens.


Then stir in about 1 chopped banana and allow to cook for just a minute before enjoying a delicious and nutritious breakfast of champions.

This is just one of the many variations of oatmeal that I have made. One of the things I love about oatmeal is that like shortbread it is a very basic thing and so it is easy to make many variations of the same thing and each one has a bit of a different flavor and taste to it.

Oatmeal Cake

As soon as I saw this recipe for Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Cake I just knew I had to give it a try. I'm not sure what exactly it was that appealed to me about it. Maybe because the word Old-Fashioned is in the name? I do have a love of all things old-fashioned. At any rate, I decided to give it a try. Here is my adjusted recipe. And I apologize about the absence of pictures.

Oatmeal Cake
1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 3/4 c. boiling water
3/4 c. honey
3/4 c. coconut sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
9 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce (give or take a little)
2 Tbsp. tapioca flour
1 1/2 c. flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping
2/3 c. sugar (I used dark brown and raw sugar)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. coconut
1 c. chopped pecans

Combine the oats and the boiling water and allow to sit while you combine the rest.

In a separate bowl cream together the butter, coconut sugar and honey. Add the vanilla and applesauce and mix well. Then add the remaining ingredients including the oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan and bake in a 350* oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking combine the ingredients for the topping. When the cake is done baking, spread the topping over it and place under a broiler for 1-2 minutes until the topping is golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!