Berry Baked Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. If I wasn't married I would probably eat it for dinner a couple times a week. It's good I'm married I guess (okay, for a lot of reasons other than that). Anyways, today we had some friends over for breakfast and I "veganized" a baked oatmeal recipe a friend had given me and it turned out so good. Ah, I'm hooked! Try it out.

Berry Baked Oatmeal
(Makes 6-8 servings)

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts (divided)*
2 cups milk
1 flax "egg"*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 1/2 cups blueberries and strawberries (or whatever kind you have on hand)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

*To toast your walnuts, place them on a baking dish in an oven heated to 375 degrees for about 7 minutes.
*To make a flax "egg", whisk 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for five minutes until the texture turns "yolky"

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8x8 inch square baking dish with PAM.

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together: oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt and 1/4 cup of walnuts.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flax egg, milk, vanilla and melted butter.

Once your dry and wet ingredients are all ready, place the banana slices on the bottom of your prepared baking dish until the bottom is completely covered. Sprinkle half of the berries over top of the bananas and then top the berries with all of the dry oat mixture. Next slowly pour the wet ingredients over top of the oats and gently shake the dish or use a spatula to make sure the liquid is evenly distributed.

Lastly top with the remaining berries and walnuts.

Bake for about 40 minutes, uncovered until golden and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes before serving plain or with maple syrup.

Everyone loved this and we ate it all up! I think next time I'll try omitting the butter and I bet it will turn out just as good.

Nutrition for 1/6: Cals: 288; Fat: 11.4g (Sat 1.72g); Carbs: 44g; Fiber: 6g; Sugars: 18.5g; Protein: 6 g

Eat Consciously,

     Faith