Baked Oatmeal

I love breakfast but it is the hardest meal for me to prep ahead of time.  I usually end up buying a breakfast taco because it is quick and easy to eat on the go, but not always healthy.  My second go-to breakfast meal is oatmeal.  It's inexpensive and has plenty of health benefits, but it is not always something I want to make in the morning.  I prefer steel cut or rolled oats, ones that you actually have to cook a bit, in order to obtain more of the health benefits.  Instant oatmeal just will not do.  So how could I make things even easier?  Baked oatmeal friends.

I adapted this recipe from Eat Yourself Skinny and you can find the link here.   The recipe made quite a bit and will last throughout the week.  You can change the ingredients to your liking and experiment with different fruits, nuts and seeds.  I also ommitted the sugar and replaced it with 100% pure, organic maple syrup.  You could also use agave, honey, coconut nectar, etc. 

I like to warm my serving before eating and serve with a little almond milk or plain, greek yogurt for some extra protein.  You can find more health benefits of eating oats here.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled or steel cut oats

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs chopped walnuts (or nut of choice)

2 cups diced apples

3 eggs

2 cups milk of choice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease baking dish, roughly 8x8 in size.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, baking powder, salt, apples, and walnuts.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Combine with the dry ingredients and pour into the baking dish. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour, until golden brown and set.  Serve warm (or cold)!