Baked Oatmeal To-Go

I try to cook healthy things, I rarely use salt, I've fried things only a handful of times since moving to the land of fried foods the South... But I'm really good at sitting on the couch and assuming that the calories I do eat will just melt away like when I was younger. Reality check: Welcome to my 30's. And thus, we diet.

I will be removing my ass from the couch as well, but I know I can eat healthier. Since J will obviously be forced down this road with me, I have the challenge of finding healthy alternatives that don't include vegetables or things other than meat he will actually eat. Meals aren't really the difficult part of that challenge, it's the snacks and easy foods that we can take to work.

Breakfast during the week usually consists of a granola bar, which of course is loaded with sugar. That's why they're tasty. Mmmmmm sugar. While searching for alternatives I stumbled upon baked oatmeal. As a cupcake enthusiast, this was the perfect thing to cram into my muffin tins. It can be made with any topping you desire, and they're perfect for healthy-ish eating on the go. If you're not dieting, don't worry, I'll include suggestions on ways to load these up with sugar...

Baked Oatmeal To-Go

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs


• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce


• 2 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 banana, mashed


• 2 2/3 cups milk (or 2 cups milk, 2/3 cup cream)


• 1/2 cup honey


• + 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (optional)


• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon


• 3 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp salt


• 1/4 cup flour


• 5 cups rolled oats


• Toppings (chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts, maple syrup, etc)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


• Grease 2 muffin pans, or use cupcake liners.


• In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients: eggs, applesauce, vanilla, banana, milk, and honey (and optional brown sugar). Thoroughly whisk in cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir in rolled oats until well-combined.
  Your batter will seem both watery and lumpy, this is okay.


• Scoop batter into muffin pans, about 1/4 cup per well.
  Tip: Stir your bowl of batter after every few scoops. If you don't stir, the batter tends to separate and you risk having very watery batter left at the end.


• Add your desired toppings.
  I used dried cranberries, pecans, and chocolate chips. I even made a few maple and brown sugar ones by covering the top of the oatmeal with maple syrup, then sprinkling with brown sugar. These are a little sticky, but taste awesome! Get creative. Fresh blueberries, walnuts, heck even M & M's, would be awesome.


• Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

This recipe made 2 dozen little oatmeals. Store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. If you don't live with a ravenous man in your home, you can store them in the fridge so that they will keep longer. I'm sure they could be frozen too, but I will never find out because like I said... ravenous man at home.