Start the morning off right with a delicious bowl of Baked Oatmeal.
I have been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen the last few weeks. Most of it has involved things like rice flour, tapicoa flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, honey, agave, etc. All of this in our attempts to help Cali feel better. We paid a visit to our favorite naturopath and after a series of food sensitivity tests we decided to pull her off wheat (gluten is not a problem), sugar, dairy, red meat, yeast, and a whole list of other things. The whole thing was a little overwhelming at first but my favorite way to take on a challenge is to try and conquer it and learn as much as I can about it. The good news is she is feeling so much better!!
After a lot of reading, research and some great help, tips and ideas from many of you I have decided to try one new thing each day. So if you are game I’ll be sharing a few of those new recipes with you. Today’s recipe is one of our favorites from the last few week’s experiments.
The naturopath told Cali that it is important to warm up her “fires” first thing in the morning. She needed to eat something warm and nourishing. One suggestion was steel cut oats which we already had at home. In looking for a little variation on the oatmeal theme I pulled out a recipe for baked oatmeal that I had in my recipe files and had never made.
Although this recipe doesn’t use steel cut oats but uses old fashioned oats.
I also substituted out the brown sugar for honey and for the milk I used almond milk.
You could get creative with the fruit you add in. I used blueberries because that is one fruit she can have (no citrus, apples, strawberries, bananas, mangos, pineapple, lemons, limes)
I have to admit I am not an oatmeal eater – texture! But I was pleasantly surprise with the Baked Oatmeal. I tried it and I liked it!! I felt so healthy eating it. Thanks to all of you who have shared links, recipes, tips etc. Please keep them coming. We are learning so much!!
Baked Oatmeal Recipe
Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1/2 C melted butter
- 1/2 C honey
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 C old fashioned oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 C milk I used almond
- 1 C Fruit or nuts of choice
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together the butter, honey and eggs
- Add in the oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and the milk
- Mix and then fold in fruit of choice
- Bake in a lightly greased 8 x 8 pan at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown
- May be served with milk and more fruit on top!
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I’m going to make this for breakfast tomorrow! We’re having your cheesy chicken tonight. Thanks!!
We love Baked Oatmeal! I made it this morning and I’m posting the recipe today as well. How funny that we both had it today. I’m glad you liked it.
Several in our family have limited diets, too. These are some tricks that I have learned:
In foods that require butter (dairy) you can substitute margarine, In foods that soak up moisture (like oats, rice) substitute olive, grape seed or canola oil.
If foods that would have a garlic & cream sauce, substitute hummus. Nice light colored & creamy consistency.
With many of these options, they are not going to produce twins for what they are replacing. However, if one lets go of that expectation and embraces them as foods that stand on their own merit, they are delicious.
Foods that have sauces and would be served with pasta, serve over lightly cooked carrot or zucchini ribbons (made by a vegetable peeler) or thinly sliced egg plant ‘noodles’. So colorful!
A number of the milk alternatives like almond, rice or soy do contain sucrose/sugar. Read the labels.
Agave nectar makes a great sugar replacement and you use less, because it is much sweeter in taste. To get a browned sugar look that is also sweet, substitute apple or white grape juice concentrate. Make sure it is juice and not supplemented with sugar.
To give crunch to vegetables, chicken & fish without bread crumbs or panko, toss/dredge in almond or hazelnet meal (not flour) sesame seeds or quinoa. Then season as you normally would.
The faux cheese that seems to melt the best is not soy or almond, from my experience, The rice ‘cheeses’ are the closest cousins to the milk cheeses.
Melinda, Thanks for all the great tips! This adventure has certainly been an education!! Cali can have goat cheese so we have been using that but will have to check out the rice cheeses. Does Trader Joes carry them?
I’ve had quite a bit of experience on the gluten/casein free diet as my son was on it for a while. I now find for myself if I don’t eat gluten, I am way less bloated and overall feel better (though I am not allergic to it, it is something that my holistic nutritionist mentioned that I try). You do have to make sure that your oats are gluten free, because good old Quaker Oats are NOT. I buy my oats either at Whole Foods, Trader Joes or our neighborhood co-op. I am going to try this recipe for my family…we all love oatmeal! Yum! Thanks for sharing gluten free recipes…keep them coming!
P.S. Glad Cali is feeling better!
I’m going to have to try this one. Oatmeal is so good for you but like you I can’t stand to eat it, also a texture thing with me I think. Thanks for sharing it.
Be careful Leigh Anne….you might just get converted this this healthier way to eat. I too was a bit overwhelmed when I was told “no wheat, no sugar, no corn, no dairy, no soy.” Now most of my family eats this way and feels so much better for it. The options are endless…believe it or not!! I love this breakfast cereal…add a little nutmeg also!! I’ll be excited to see what healthy ideas you come up with.
Looks yummy– I actually have a baked oatmeal recipe using steel cut oats… can’t remember if I sent you that link or not. I will if you need it but I am sure your archives are piling up of things to try! 🙂
Mary Kathryn, I would love the recipe for the steel cut oats baked oatmeal. My husband loves his steel cut oats!
i hope cali can feel better. it’s hard having issues with food! a little girl in my class is on a anti candida diet (i think that’s the way you say it) and it is so hard! just buy good quality oats, sometimes they have flour dust on them and can affect you too! you can buy bobs red mill gluten free oats just more expensive!
Hi Leigh Anne. I’m sure you already know about this site but I just heard about it. It’s called Gluten Freely. You can find it at http://www.glutenfreely.com. The site has recipes, coupons, ask the experts, etc. A whole community. I just wanted to make sure you have heard about it.
Lynne,
Hadn’t heard of it so thanks for the link!
I was recently told to change my diet very similar to what your daughter is doing. It’s just me and the husband in the house so far. We are working toward a family, one of the reasons for the new diet, but for now it’s just us. I’m curious as to how well your recipes hold up as left overs or when reheated? Especially the oatmeal because I love it but my husband, like you, won’t eat because of the texture. If you have any idea as to how it reheats I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks!
The oatmeal reheated great. My husband and daughter enjoyed it for breakfast several days in a row. Good luck with your new eating!
Make the baked oatmeal this weekend, used blueberries, fresh peaches and pecans, it was yummy. Had enough leftover to have it again for breakfast today, just added a little milk and popped it in the microwave, Thank you for a diversion – don’t tolerate just regular oatmeal well.
This would make a great trail mix to keep in my purse when I’m running errands.
Thanks for the recipe. I gave up dairy while I was nursing (my infant is milk protein intolerant) and have continued to eat that way. There was a comment regarding margarine being dairy-free. Most are not dairy, Earth Balance and Fleishman’s unsalted (regular has milk in it) are dairy-free.
I meant to say that most margarines are NOT dairy-free.
Thanks for the recipe! Here’s a breadcrumb for your health trail! Tons of info about how digestion affects your general health and how to make a real impact on digestion through balancing the gut flora. It’s changed my life!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/02/digestive-system-gut-flora.aspx?e_cid=20130102_DNL_art_1
Blessings to you!
Thanks for the info – will definitely check it out.
I love to cook and I am always trying to come up wholesome foods my roommates will actually eat. I made this recipe and it was a hit… Make that a home run! I doubled the recipe in a 8×13 and and it baked just fine at the same temperature. For the fruit I peeled and diced a large apple and it obviously paired fantasticly with the cinnamon. I didn’t have enough butter so I used half coconut oil and I was short on honey so I used about 3/4 honey and 1/4 agave nectar. The pan lasted several days and we would just heat some up each morning. I have been asked several times now to make it again…. This is just soooo yummy!
Grace, Love that it was a homerun! My college girls love making this. Love the addition of coconut oil. Will try that next time.
I have been looking for a good baked oatmeal recipe, and this is it. I made mine with the brown sugar, 2% milk and added a little shredded coconut. Have already shared the recipe. I think this would be great as a dessert with ice cream and fresh fruit.
Love this recipe, thanks so much! I’ve experimented with it a bit just for fun – used maple syrup in a 1-1 replacement with honey and it worked great (although I feel like it is slightly less sweet, but still delicious). Cut the butter in half and upped the almond milk, also worked shockingly well. I am going to drop the butter entirely the next time I make it and see what happens – mostly because we don’t really eat a lot of butter or margarine, so we rarely have it in the fridge and I have to remember to buy it for this recipe, haha.
So glad that you have enjoyed the recipe and made it your own.
Would this be suitable to be made in muffin tins for ‘on the go’ purposes?
I think it would work fine – great idea!
I’ve been swapping out butter for coconut oil lately.
great idea!
This was an excellent recipe. Made with blueberries and topped off with some leftover candied walnuts from a salad I made last night. Perfect!