Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bake

Meal Prepping! It only takes some time set aside on Sunday to make the rest of your week less hectic and help you stay on track with your nutrition goals.  I’ll be sharing some great meal-prep ideas that are easy and delicious to help you start off your week with *certitude* that you’ll reach your goals!  This Oatmeal Bake is made with just a few ingredients but tastes amazing, makes your house smell GREAT while it’s baking, and is a great breakfast to start your day off healthy or a perfect pre/post workout fuel! Plus, it only requires one skillet and one bowl! (if you don’t have a skillet pan, you can put it in a normal baking dish also, bake time may vary).

This recipe will make about 8 servings, with macros of 5g protein/18g carbs/3g fat per serving…a great balance for starting your morning with balanced energy and stable blood sugar for a productive day or to provide some fuel for a great workout!  Oats are a great source of carbohydrates that also contain fiber so they are slower digesting to keep you feeling full and prevent a spike in blood sugar (so that we don’t crash soon after…consistent maintenance of blood sugar levels are key in typical situations!).  Oats are also a great source of plant protein, which we should be consuming just as often as animal proteins for the health of our circulatory and digestive systems!  The apple slices are also a great source of carbohydrates and fruit’s natural sugar, fructose, breaks down relatively quickly for some immediate energy while the oats will give us more sustained continued fuel!

I love cinnamon because it adds a unique sweetness without any additional macros!  It is also a powerful anti-inflammatory which is great for athlete recovery as well as overall health for anyone because of the antioxidants that clear out free-radicals (bad guys that increase our risk for diseases like cancer!)

It is super easy to throw together but takes about 40 minutes to bake, so it is definitely something to make ahead of time for the week ahead.  I’ve managed to collect an obscene amount of canning jars (aka I steal homemade jellies/pickles/chutneys from home…thanks mom) so I transferred the Bake into 8 of those so I am ready to grab-and-go!  I will be taking these with me to work in the morning (I go in at 6am) to eat on my way to the gym (at 9am) for my second-breakfast/pre-workout!

There are also SO many variations you can make with this recipe…my main flavor ingredients are apples and cinnamon, but you can use any fruits, nuts, nut butters, bacon…anything you’d like! (Pictured below is also my banana-blackberry bake!) Different fruits will change the amount of carbs per serving and adding nuts, butters, or meats will change the protein and especially the fat content!  These can be eaten re-heated (I added a splash more of milk before heating), cold, or over yogurt or milk!

APPLE CINNAMON OATMEAL BAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups oatmeal

3 tbsp cinnamon (I love the flavor a lot…you can add to your liking)

1 tbsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs (can use 3 egg whites instead if cutting back more on fats…so that maybe you can add peanut butter also?!)

1 cup water

1.5 cups milk (I used almond milk, any type will do…regular milk will change macros slightly)

1 medium sized apple (can sub any type of fruit! blueberries, bananas, strawberries, black/raspberries, peaches)

*can also add in nuts, coconut flakes, nut butters, powdered peanut butter/PB2, chia seeds, flax seeds, cocoa powder, honey or maple syrup if you like it sweeter* (will change macro values)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all of the dry ingredients into the skillet. I toasted my oats for a few minutes first, but this isn’t required.  In a bowl, whisk the eggs and stir in the water and milk.  If you’re adding nuts or other ingredients, stir them into this as well.  Pour the contents of the bowl into the skillet pan and mix it together with the oats.  Slice the apple and place your slices strategically and beautifully across the top! Sprinkle some more cinnamon on top for looks and flavor!  Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven to broil for the last 10 minutes to glaze those apples!

If using a glass dish to cook, it will only take 10-15 minutes to bake, so keep an eye on it! Once all the liquid has been absorbed, it’s done 🙂

I posted a preview of this to my Instagram story; if you want to see more sneak-peaks follow my account 🙂 @danielletkearns

Post your creation and tag me in it! Contact me if you have any questions 🙂

UPDATE

This week, I made some with Bananas and Blackberries and it is AMAZING!!! Same exact recipe, sub the apples for the other fruits.  Definitely a favorite!