Baked Oatmeal

I saw this idea of making baked oatmeal for breakfast over on Kelly the Kitchen Kop's blog. I made a few changes to make a version that I think my family would like (we aren't the biggest raisin fans). One of these mornings I'll make her original recipe though because I want to try it. The great thing about her recipe is it's quite versatile. Apples can be replaced for any other fruit of your liking and raisins can be traded out for different types of dried fruit. One of these days I want to make one with blueberries and black berries. Actually the more I think about it the more combinations I keep coming up with!

 Baked oatmeal in a 9x13 ceramic dish

Ready to eat! My husband pours milk on his and I enjoy topping mine off with walnuts or pecans

Ingrediants

2-1/2 cups oats (regular, steel cut, or both)

1-3/4 cups buttermilk, yogurt, or 1 Tbs lemon juice mixed with water

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup flax meal + water until it has the consistency of an egg (or use 2 eggs if not allergic)

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup dates pit removed and chopped

2 cups unsweetened, chunky apple sauce

Pecans or walnuts to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions

Soak the oats in buttermilk or lemon juice over night.

 In the morning Beat the coconut oil, flax meal mixture, and maple syrup together.

Add in baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and apple sauce. Beat together until well combined. Then stir in the dates and oats.

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve. 

Meatloaf with lentils and veggies

The secret to my tasty meatloaf is to add in leftovers. I had some organic kale and sausage from the previous day as well as fiber from juicing vegetables for a morning health drink. It proved to be a great way to give my meatloaf a nutritional boost and add flavor as well. 

Instead of using 2 lbs of grass-fed ground beef I used 1 lb and the other lb was replaced with sprouted lentils. This saved money since lentils cost pennies compared to grass-fed beef. Plus Lentils offer plenty of protein, folate, iron, potassium, and fiber. 

 Sauteed celery and onions

 Sprouted lentils cooked with tomatoes, onions, and garlic for 10 minutes.

 Meatloaf is a great way to use up leftovers. I had some sausage and kale that needed eaten up so I blended it up with some garlic. 

 1 lb of grass-fed ground beef, 1 lb of sprouted/cooked lentils, tomatoes, onions, celery, kale, organic sausage, garlic, and fiber from juicing carrots/summer squash. 

 Instead of doing the typical meatloaf in a bread pan I baked them in a greased muffin pan. 

 After they have baked for 45 minutes they are ready to eat. Not the prettiest picture (I'm not a photographer by any means) but they tasted great, in fact we didn't even use ketchup!

Meatloaf

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 lb of  sprouted lentils

15 oz diced tomatoes

2 Tbs ghee

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic bulbs

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 cup kale, chopped

2 carrots, shredded (in this case I used fiber from juicing veggies)

1 oz Italian sausage (optional)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of fresh rosemary, diced

4 Tbs of Flax meal + water

1 1/2 cups gluten free bread crumbs (I used roughly blended oatmeal)

Directions

Soak the lentils for 12 hours. Drain and rinse 3 times over 24 hours or until they have sprouted.

Cook the lentils with 15 oz of diced tomatoes. Since they are sprouted it should only take 10 minutes.

Sauté the onion, celery,  garlic, and kale in 2 Tbs of ghee. Place in a food processor and blend so it is chunky. Don't puree it.

Preheat oven to 350

In a large mixing bowl  combine all of the ingredients.

Grease muffin tins and scoop the meatloaf into each cup and shape the top smooth. Bake for 45 minutes or until the temperature reads 170. 

Muesli

I have been getting gluten free oats and making muesli. Living Young has some great info about properly prepared grains. When I made muesli in the past I never soaked my oats but after reading about the health benefits I have changed my ways!

 I soak the oats in water and fresh lemon juice overnight, then drain it in the morning

Scoop some of the soaked/drained oats into a bowl and add banana slices 

Next I warm up some frozen berries and place them on top 

Then I pour in some cashew milk 

Sometimes I add 3 drops of stevia and give it a couple of stirs. For those of you who enjoy your milk turning pink from those artificial breakfast cereals, you are lucky you will get the same result without the ill effects. 

Muesli

Soak 1 cup of gf oats in 2 cups of water with fresh lemon, orange, or apple juice. 

In the morning drain the oats and scoop some oats into a bowl. 

Add toppings that you like: fruit, nuts, seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, or nut butters

Pour non-dairy milk over the top and enjoy!