Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Year's Oatmeal Bake

If it's one thing I know, it's that to lose weight, eat oatmeal, preferably the "old fashioned" kind!  To that end, I made a delicious oatmeal bake: not quite a cookie, not quite a bar, and eaten with a spoon.

Without further adieu, here it is!

New Year's Oatmeal Bake

1 3/4 cup "Old Fashioned" Oatmeal (organic if you've got it, if not, Mr. Quaker Oates!)
1/4 cup organic white sugar
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped organic walnuts (raw or toasted, doesn't matter)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup organic dried cranberries (or raisins if you prefer)
1/4 to 1/2 cup organic or non-dairy chocolate chips (Wegmans, baby!)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tablespoons ground flax whisked with 4 tablespoons water
1/2  cup soy creamer (Trader Joe's if you can get it!) or can use soy or almond milk or any other plant milk
1/4 cup oil OR for a low fat version, 1/4 cup organic applesauce OR a combination of oil and applesauce that equals 1/4 cup.  (I used 2 tablespoon organic sunflower oil, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon organic apple sauce).
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Penzey's Double Strength)

In a small bowl, whisk the flax seeds and water together vigorously until the mixture starts to thicken and gel up, approximately one to two minutes.  Let sit for about 10 minutes to continue to gel while you prepare the dry ingredients.

Combine dry ingredients (oatmeal through cinnamon) in a large mixing bowl.  

Now, add the rest of the wet ingredients to the small bowl containing your flax mixture (soy creamer/milk through vanilla) and whisk well to incorporate.

Now, add the flax mixture (which now has all of your wet ingredients in it) to the big bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. A wooden spoon is good here.

The batter will be pretty liquidy.  Don't worry.  Pour it into a prepared (lightly buttered or oiled) 8x8 Pyrex baking dish (or whatever you have, adjust baking time if you use a different kind of pan or a different sized pan) and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven when edges are golden brown and the center is set (will still be softish, but will look pretty dry and not soaking wet anymore).

 Slice and serve this with a spatula, it is going to break up (it's supposed to!)


Happy New Year, everyone!

7 comments:

  1. I am super curious about this recipe! Looks really good! Do you eat it in a bowl with milk like regular oatmeal or like a bar??? Looks YUM

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Tracy! You just need to serve it on a plate or in a bowl, it won't hold exactly together in bar pieces to just cut and grab (because it is just oat and not oat and flour together).

    You could add milk if you wanted (but I prefer it just like a softer cookie in a dish!). Adding a little milk upon reheating would be good, though.

    Let me know if you try it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks great! Cozy, easy and delicious is just what we need in these cold months.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow. This looks way better than regular oatmeal. I think I'll try it Sunday morning as a special breakfast for my granddaughter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Andrea, great! Let me know how it goes!

    Also, everyone, you could use any add-ins that you like: any dried fruits, any kind of nuts, extracts: orange, lemon, chocolate, etc., and pretty much any kind of fresh fruit--just remember to take into account the extra liquid that baked fruit will produce (you could add a little AP flour or some extra oats to absorb the liquid, or just realize it might be a little more liquidy than without the fresh fruit).

    XOXO

    ReplyDelete
  6. Another note: This lasted a week (and would have lasted longer if I didn't eat it!) covered tightly in my fridge. I reheated it sprayed with a tiny bit of organic canola oil, and it was heavenly every time!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Dawn, I would like to post this recipe on my blog. I will link back to your blog. Hope that's OK?? I love this stuff....going to make it again this afternoon for an easy weekday breakfast.

    ReplyDelete