Baked Oatmeal with Peaches

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This time of the year, with the holiday season rapidly approaching, it seems as though time speeds up. There's just never enough time in the day to get to everything done that needs to get done. I have a specialty baking business, and as you can imagine, this is the busiest time of the year for me.

Eating right is probably one of the first things I let slip. Well that and vacuuming! Anyway quite often my meal consists of a leftover sugar cookie and a cup of coffee. Too bad sugar cookies don't contain any fruits and veggies. I'm making an effort not to slip back into that rut this year and have been looking for ways to add fruits and veggies into some of my favorite meals.

Baked oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfast foods to make during the cooler months of the year. Served warm, it's like eating a fresh-from-the-oven oatmeal cookie. It's so comforting and delicious. Trying to stick to my goal of eating better, I decided to add a little more nutritional value to this meal by adding some fruit.

I changed up my usual recipe for baked oatmeal by adding Del Monte peach slices in extra light syrup. The peaches, which have 1/3 less calories than peaches in heavy syrup, added a wonderful sweetness to the baked oatmeal. I replaced some of the milk in the recipe with the syrup from the peaches which allowed me to cut down the amount of the sugar called for in the original recipe.

I like the fact that Del Monte uses high quality produce and doesn't add any artificial color or flavors to the majority of their canned fruits and vegetables. Also, the majority of Del Monte's fruits and veggies are grown in the U.S. and most are packed the same day that they are picked. This helps to lock in the nutrients and delicious flavor of Del Monte's canned fruits, vegetables and tomatoes. With a wide variety of canned fruits and vegetables, Del Monte makes it easy to Add Some Garden™ into your favorite meals!

Visit Del Monte's Add Some Garden campaign on Facebook for more ideas and recipes for using Del Monte's canned fruits and vegetables or visit their website for even more information.

Baked Oatmeal with Peaches
Ingredients
4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk (Use the liquid from the canned fruit and reduce the amount of milk by that much.)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 can Del Monte sliced peaches in extra light syrup, roughly chopped, reserving the syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar

Method
Combine oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; stir in milk, syrup, eggs, chopped peaches and brown sugar. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve hot.


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Apple Pie Oatmeal

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It's a new year, the holiday's and all the non-stop eating that goes along with them have past. Fresh starts and resolutions abound. Eat more veggies, get more exercise, lose a few pounds ...Sound familiar? While all of those sound like perfectly wonderful things to strive for, I can't help craving comfort food when it's cold outside. On these wintry days, I crave hearty, stick to your ribs, kinds of foods. Rich hearty comfort foods and eating healthy don't usually have much in common. This apple pie oatmeal has the best of both worlds. It's a hearty, warm, comforting meal that's packed with all the goodness of oatmeal and apples. Isn't it great when you can have your cake (or apple pie) and eat it too!

Apple Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients:
2 large tart apples
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or substitute Stevia or Stevia in the Raw)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or use honey, or just more brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground ginger
a large squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about a teaspoon or so
1/8 cup water

Cooked oatmeal. (I use steel cut oatmeal because I like the flavor and texture but  use whatever oatmeal you prefer.)

Method:

Core the apples and chop into small 1/2 inch pieces. In a skillet over medium heat, add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, apples and water. Let cook for about 5-10 minutes or until all the apples are soft and tender. 

The apples can be made in advance and stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

 

To serve: I like to stir a spoonful or two (depending on how many servings of oatmeal I'm making) of the apples into the oatmeal when it's finished cooking then I divide oatmeal into bowls and serve with a dopple of apples on top. 

I suggest making a double recipe of the apples and keeping them in the fridge. This way on those busy mornings, you'll still have time for a bowl of apple pie oatmeal.

The apples are also delicious mixed into yogurt, on top of pancakes, baked into puff pastry for a quick dessert, or even served along with pork.

Low Fat Blueberry Oat Loaf Cake

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I've written several posts about my love affair with oatmeal and my continuing efforts to get more oats in my diet. So of course when I came across this recipe, I immediately bookmarked it. Not only does this cake have oatmeal in it but blueberries, yogurt, and cinnamon too. Because the cake contains no oil or butter, it's a fairly low fat dessert. That makes it health food, right?? Great for Heart Health month!

Low Fat Blueberry Oat Loaf Cake
Source: Diana Rattray, About.com Guide (slightly adapted)
printable recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
cinnamon sugar for topping

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
Combine the blueberries with flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
In another bowl, whisk yogurt with lemon juice; whisk in the milk and eggs. Pour yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Spoon into the prepared pan; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture (about 3 teaspoons sugar to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.). Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The oats give the cake a dense but very moist texture, more like the texture of muffin or quick bread than a cake, but very tasty. The recipe is quick and easy to prepare and so versatile as well. Throw in some chopped nuts and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.  Shredded coconut would be delicious too. Use your imagination!

Devilishly Good Oatmeal Fruit Bars

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My oatmeal obsession continues! If you've read my blog in the past you are already know how I feel about oatmeal. These bars started off being quite low fat. They were rather angelic, you could say, and then that little voice whispered "wouldn't those be even better with a little chocolate?" "You know they would be amazing with a chocolate topping and a sprinkle of nuts!" And with that, chocolaty temptation got the best of me.  So it's up to you.  These bars are very good just as they are and quite low-fat or like me, you can give into chocolate covered temptation. Come on you know you want too!

Oatmeal Fruit Bars  (Printable Recipe)

Source: Quaker Oats.com, adapted
Ingredients

3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2  cup granulated sugar

One  8-ounce container plain low-fat yogurt

2  egg whites, lightly beaten

2  Tbsp. vegetable oil

2  Tbsp. milk

2  tsp. vanilla

1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour

1  tsp. baking soda

1  tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2  tsp. salt (optional)

3  cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1  cup diced dried mixed fruit, raisins, or dried cranberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, combine sugars, yogurt, egg whites, oil, milk, and vanilla; mix well. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Add to yogurt mixture; mix well. Stir in oats and fruit.

Spread dough onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan.

Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until light golden brown. Let bars cool for 10-15 minutes before topping with chocolate (if using).

Totally optional but devilishly good topping:

6 ounces dark chocolate
2 Tbl. unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Place coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in a microwave-safe container and microwave at MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the chocolate turns shiny. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted.Spread melted chocolate over the cooled oatmeal bars. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

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I really loved the oatmeal banana muffins I made a few months ago using oat flour instead of regular flour. Since then I've been looking for other ways to use oat flour. These carmelita bars are also flourless and made using oat flour. They are so delicious you'll never guess that they actually contain about 15 grams of oatmeal per serving!
As I was making these bars with all their hidden oats, I was reminded a bit of one of the latest fads in cooking. You know the one where you puree up vegetables and sneak them into brownies and chicken fingers so your family doesn't realize they're eating vegetables. I'm not really a fan of this fad. I mean shouldn't we be trying to encourage or families to try new things and broaden their palate as well as their world? This is just my opinion but I'd hate to think we're raising a generation that will only eat veggies as long as they're disguised as something else. I've read the argument that at least the kiddos are eating veggies. I suppose that is true but at what point do you learn to enjoy vegetables that look and taste like vegetables? *stepping off soapbox now*


Carmelitas

Yield: 1 – 13" x 9" pan (35 squares)

Base and Topping
1 1/3 cup oat flour (go here for instructions for making oat flour)
1 cup oats, rolled, old fashioned or quick cooking
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup butter

Filling
32 caramels
5 tbsp cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Instructions

Combine oat flour, baking soda, salt and stir well. Stir in oats and brown sugar. Cut butter into dry ingredients until crumbly.
Pat half of the mixture into a lightly greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
While the base is baking, in a small saucepan, melt the caramels in the cream until smooth.
Remove pan from the oven. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts on top of the base. Drizzle the caramel mixture on top. Add remaining oat mixture. Return to the 35 degrees oven for another 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow bars to cool before cutting. Because they don't contain any flour or eggs the carmalites are not as thick and a little most crumbly than most bar cookies but they taste so good you won't mind.


So chock full for nuts, chocolate and gooey caramel you'll never miss whats missing from these carmelitas.

Guilt (and gluten) free oatmeal banana muffins

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My dad is the healthiest person I know. Really. He's in his late 60's has almost no body fat and can outwork most men half his age. His cholesterol and blood pressure are great in spite of eating eggs, real butter, and some form of dessert at least once a day. If you ask him what his secret is he'll tell you; oatmeal. He has eaten a bowl of oatmeal and two eggs for breakfast nearly everyday of his entire life. I think he single handily has kept Quaker Oats in business!
He's hardcore with the oatmeal too. It's the old-fashioned oatmeal, no quick cooking, brown sugar and maple microwave variety for Dad. He claims that the quick cooking kind it's nearly as healthy( and apparently the American Cancer Society agrees). Oh and he doesn't put any sugar on his oatmeal either, sometimes some raisins or other fruit but never sugar.

Oatmeal is one of those super foods that has numerous health benefits, not the least of which is lowering cholesterol levels. I know I should get more in my diet and I do occasionally eat a bowl. I just can't seem to make myself eat it everyday. Oh and I do have to add a bit of brown sugar, sorry Dad, I'm not as tough as you! Hubs will also force down a bowl now and again, but definitely isn't going to eat it on a regular basis. So I been was looking for some other ways to incorporate more of this wonder food into our diet. I came across this recipe for oatmeal banana muffins. It's low fat and has an amazing 25 grams of oatmeal to each muffin! I didn't actually set out to make gluten free muffins, but this recipe uses no wheat flour. Instead it calls for oat flour. I didn't have any oat flour on hand, but its easy to make. I put my old fashioned rolled oats into the food processor and ground them until they had a flour like texture. Super simple! It takes about a cup and a half of oats to make one cup of oat flour.
The muffins were really moist. Hubs and I agreed they taste and texture of banana bread.


These muffins are like a portable bowl of oatmeal. The fruit is even included.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Yield: 12 large
Bake: in 400ºF oven for 20 minutes

1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup yogurt, plain low fat
1/2 cup milk, low fat
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil, sunflower or vegetable oil
2 bananas, large, ripe, mashed
1 egg, large, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions
In a bowl mix together rolled oats, yogurt and milk. Let soak for 10 minutes.
Mix oat flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
Add brown sugar, mashed banana, egg and oil to rolled oats mixture. Mix well.
Add dry ingredients to the rolled oats mixture. Mix well. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.