Baked Blueberry and Banana Oatmeal
I’m not going to even talk of resolutions because I don’t make them. I don’t need another thing hanging over me that I could fail. I know. It sounds like I have a bad attitude but I really don’t. I just believe we should make little affirmations all year to do things better by ourselves and our family. Grand ideas to have chiseled hips and a rock hard stomach by March just aren’t my thing. (Although I really want chiseled hips and a rock hard stomach by March.) However, I do try, every so often, to go sugar free for a small time period. I decided to use the next month as my next sugar-free adventure, especially after all the treats I devoured over the holidays. So I guess, if you really wanted to press, that would be my resolution. Should be easy, right?
Wrong. Sugar is in just about everything we eat. So I had to give myself some shortcuts since omitting everything but fruits (I’m ok with natural sugars) and vegetables seemed like a recipe for failure within an hour. I’m allowing myself some bread but steering clear of anything processed and definitely anything that is pure sugar. (Sorry maple syrup. I love you and all your intense stickiness but I need to see other condiments.) There’s been so many stories in the news about the effects of sugar and how it wreaks havoc on our bodies–it does everything from encourage weight gain to impair liver function and throw off your metabolism–that I decided I was due for another sugar boycott. I’m also on a steady diet of hot oatmeal right now since my part of the world is a frozen tundra, so when I stumbled upon this recipe from The Curvy Carrot I knew it had my name all over it. It’s chockfull of fresh fruit (hi, natural sugar) and I adapted it to also include lots of nuts and seeds. As I always say, the more the better in oatmeal. It also has maple syrup. Gasp. However, for the last week, I’ve been omitting it, but before the holidays it was maple syrup city. Don’t ask me which version I like better. I won’t tell you but you’d be surprised by the answer. You give both a try and let me know. It’s a great way to start the day and if you make it the night before, you’re laughing when the alarm goes off in the morning.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Preheat your oven to 375.
Lightly grease a 1.8 liter casserole dish with butter or baking spray.
Arrange the banana slices and 1/2 cup of the blueberries along the bottom of the casserole dish.
In a medium bowl, mix the oats, pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut, baking powder, allspice and salt.
In a separate small bowl, whisk the maple syrup, almond milk, egg and vanilla extract.
Pour the oat mixture over the blueberry and bananas.
Then pour the milk mixture on top, be sure to evenly distribute it across the casserole dish.
Top with the remaining blueberries.
Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the oatmeal is a golden brown.
Remove from the oven and serve a generous scoop in a bowl with a little extra milk or, if you want to live on the edge, drizzle with a maple syrup.
You might also like
Corn and Black Bean Salad
There’s nothing like corn on the cob from the local farms at my cottage. Really. I didn’t even used to like corn on the cob until I tasted the insanely
Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry over Brown Rice
I’m hoping I’m getting this one in under the wire. In other words, Winter better finally be over. I’d like to tuck away all my hearty recipes until next fall
Pasta e Fagioli
This is my pick of 2010. We’d only been working on SPC for a short time when I wrote this post but we could feel things coming together. I remember
Hey, thanks for stopping by!
We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
8 Comments
Laura
January 06, 20:39This sounds delicious! I love getting a head start on breakfast the night before. One question though: do you assemble the night before and bake in the morning, or bake the night before and reheat in the morning?
Laura Keogh
January 09, 12:22I usually bake it the night before and then just reheat in the morning. It’s super fast…just add a bit of milk. Let me know if you give it a whirl. Thanks so much for checking us out.
TSS
January 08, 13:02I just saw you today on Cityline. You both were great, looking forward to trying your recipes.
Laura Keogh
January 09, 12:20Thanks so much! I’m so glad you found us and I hope you enjoy what you try from us.
Sally Issenman
January 14, 22:48How many people is this recipe meant to serve??
thanks.
Laura Keogh
January 15, 10:33Hi Sally, Thanks so much for reading Sweet Potato Chronicles. Sorry for not including servings. This recipe serves 4. Hope you give it a try and thank you for writing! Best, Laura
Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal - Sweet Potato Chronicles
February 27, 13:52[…] for 35 to 40 minutes. If your family loves this family (and I think they will!) you can try this amazing baked oatmeal that Laura whipped up recently — it rocks, […]
Baked Oatmeal (That Tastes Like Apple Pie) | Sweet Potato Chronicles
June 10, 13:23[…] Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. If your family loves this family (and I think they will!) you can try this amazing baked oatmeal that Laura whipped up recently – it rocks, […]