If you know me, you know that I am a planner. And when it comes to my mornings, I have a few steps that I take to ensure that I have a smooth, stress-free start to my day. In a perfect world, this would be everyday. In reality, it is MOST days, if I do these things:
- Prep lunches for the week, or at least for 4 days. This is usually a salad with some kind of protein (whole grain pasta, hard-boiled egg, etc.) plus a piece of fruit and a salty snack. 🙂
- Have a plan for breakfast. Yes, for the whole week. This post will help you with that! I rotate between baked oatmeal, English muffins with peanut butter, and yogurt with fruit.
- Lay out clothes the night before, because you will joyously thank yourself in the morning.
- Set up coffee the night before on a timer, if you are a coffee drinker (otherwise, you are not human and I don’t know how you function daily).
When I take these steps, no matter how much time it takes me on Sunday and the night before, it is WORTH. IT. You might actually have time to sit on your couch in the morning before work and watch the news, OR ignore that negativity and listen to a good record.
Baked oatmeal is truly a breakfast hero- incredibly easy to throw together on a Sunday, and equally as easy to heat up in the morning with some milk or maple syrup. Better still, this is pretty darn good for you- no post-donut morning haze! (No prejudice against donuts, though, because fried dough is delicious.) Keep this recipe in your arsenal for your weekday breakfasts- you will be so happy that you did.
Baked Oatmeal
Makes 6 generous breakfast servings.
2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups milk of choice (any and all varieties work here)
1 large egg
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups fruit, or 1 cup fruit plus 1/2 cup of another mix-in (any variation of diced fresh or frozen fruit works, no need to thaw. Chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and toasted coconut are just a few options for other mix-ins. Diced banana and chocolate chips are a personal favorite. Today I had honeycrisp apples and pecans.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and line a 9″x9″ baking pan with foil. Grease with butter or spray the foil with nonstick spray.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, baking powder, and salt. Fold in fruit and any other mix-ins you have. I used diced apple and pecans today. I also like to reserve some nuts to sprinkle on top before baking.
Note: Feel free to add any other spices you like. A teaspoon of cinnamon is lovely, as well as a few gratings of nutmeg!
Combine the wet ingredients. In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
Finish the batter and bake. Pour the wet ingredients into the oat mixture and fold together until combined. Don’t forget about that butter you melted earlier! Fold it in last, because by now it has cooled a bit and won’t immediately solidify when added to the cold batter. Dump the oatmeal into the prepared pan and give it a little shake, nudging it around so that it looks evenly distributed throughout the pan. Bake the oatmeal for 35 minutes, or until golden around the edges and set in the middle.
How to serve during the week: I typically precut my oatmeal into portions for the week- I usually divide it into 6 portions. Then I can just lift out a square in the morning, microwave it for 30 seconds or so, and top it with a little milk and/or maple syrup.
Let me know if you try any new combinations with your baked oatmeal.
Enjoy!
