While visiting my daughter recently she mentioned eating baked oatmeal. Thoughts of mushy, gooey, porridge came to mind. Our grandchildren instantly perked up! “Yum!” Their ‘yum’ surprised me, and intrigued me. The girls were too hungry to wait the thirty-minute baking time and enjoyed stove top oatmeal laden with fruit. Baked oatmeal didn’t leave my food brain, especially once our daughter said how it is good right out of the oven, or as long as it lasts right from the pan. I began looking into recipes and tried a few. Each I found had way too much cooking oil and sugar for my liking, so I did my favorite thing – experiment! I substituted some of the fat for a mashed, ripe, avocado. I decreased the sugar and added agave (honey will work as well), and it works wonderfully. The result is super-nutritious baked oatmeal, filled with fruit, nuts, oats, and little fat, little sodium, and no gluten! You can use any combination of fruit, fresh and/or frozen. Bananas, apples, pears, grapes, whatever you have. I had some sour cherries, a few raspberries, and even some blueberries in the freezer, and in they went! Dried fruit will work as well, but I would not use more than ½ cup of dried in with the fresh or frozen to make the 2-cup requirement. I love this oatmeal, and especially love how filling it is. It has to be just about complete nutrition in one bite. The baked oatmeal was really good warm. I envision heating it up in the morning and adding a drizzle of half & half, and a drizzle of maple syrup. How I really enjoy it though, is as a nutritious snack, or an on-the-go-breakfast. Just cut a piece, grab your coffee, and out the door. Clever, efficient people might actually cut the entire pan into servings, wrap them up and store in the refrigerator ready ‘to-go’ whenever they want it. This would be great in a lunchbox, packed along on a hike, or as an afterschool snack. Give it a try!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan.
In a large bowl combine and mix well:
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup lite Agave Syrup or honey
1 ½ cup, fat-free milk
4 large eggs, beaten
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1/3 cup vegetable oil or peanut oil
1 large, ripe, avocado, seeded and mashed
In separate bowl mix:
1-teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1-teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen. Any combination works!
1 cup chopped walnuts or other unsalted nuts
5 cups oatmeal, not instant
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Gently press mixture down with back of spoon. Bake 30 minutes. Oatmeal will be a bit gooey in center but it will continue to set up as it cools. If serving warm, allow cooling 5 minutes before cutting.
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