Oatmeal is my numero uno, go to, every morning breakfast. Now, don’t get me wrong. From time to time I like to mix it up with an occasional pitaya bowl, or a favorite blueberry bran muffin, and a delicious poached egg and ezekiel toast… but I’ve always found oatmeal to fill me up and sustain me until my mid-morning snack (about 3 hours later…). Yet, as was the same situation with this time last year, lately I’ve been wanting a little more variety for the meal to break the evening long fast (you see, I wake up starving every morning). Enter this oatmeal bake. I found a lot of different recipes floating around in “pinterest- land,” but none had all of the ingredients I wanted, or contained ingredients I knew my body wasn’t going to like very much (aka dairy.). So, I adapted my own recipe to fit my taste buds and liking. I subbed the healthy ingredients when possible, so that this first meal of the day would be nutritious, tasty, and filling. A power meal if you may.
I tend to whip up a batch Sunday evening and place it in the refrigerator for the next morning. I’ve found that this can last me 3-4 mornings… depending on whether or not TJ has dipped into it too…. In that case it’ll last a whole 2 days :). It’s perfect for those mornings when you’re in a rush. You can scoop some out, heat it up, and eat it on the go (I’ve been known to toss mine into a tuber-ware post microwave :)).
Ingredients:
3 cups tolled oats (I prefer Trader Joe’s, as they are gluten free)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons low-sodium, aluminum free-baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2-3 tablespoons vegan chocolate chips
3 eggs
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degress. Stir all ingredients together. With the cooking spray, spray a 8×10 baking dish. Pour all the ingredients in the baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes if cooking immediately. If you refrigerate it overnight, it will take between 40-45 minutes to cook.
