Back to School and Baked Spice Oatmeal

My mind has been preoccupied with all things "Back to School."  We have successfully purchased new clothes...and backpacks...and underwear...and shoes...and lunchboxes...  So now I obsess over what to put in those new lunchboxes, and what to have for breakfast on those hectic school mornings, and what snacks to pack, and how to provide "treats" when the other kids bring birthday goodies...

So I will start tackling these conundra one at a time and sharing my ideas here so that, hopefully, it will benefit someone else and perhaps said person will have one less thing to keep them up at night.  Yes, I am totally taking one for the team here.

So, the first thing I have to gush over is baked oatmeal.  I love oatmeal, and I firmly believe it is a heck of a lot better than over-processed sugar in a box ahem, I mean cereal.  And I have developed sneaky ways to make my children like oatmeal, and Baked Spice Oatmeal is one of them

Baked oatmeal is something like a slightly crumbly, warm oatmeal bar cookie.  You can cook it on a Sunday, let it cool, pop it in the fridge, and them microwave it for about 40 seconds during the busy mornings, add a splash of milk (or soy milk, if you prefer, like me), and dig in.  A hot breakfast in about the same amount of time it takes to pour a bowl of cold cereal.  And, the best part, it that the baked oatmeal stays lovely in the fridge for about a week, so you could very well have a whole week's worth of breakfasts ready with minimal effort!

Mmmmm...oatmeal!

Baked Spice Oatmeal

Ingredients
3 c. gluten free oats
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. soy milk (or almond milk)
3 tbs. ground flax seed + 9 tbs. warm water, whisked together
1/2 c. melted vegan butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. dried fruit (I like cranberries, but apricots, raisins, currants, or coconut would all be lovely!  You can also add some toasted almonds, if you are so inclined.)

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
3.  Stir in soy milk, flax/water combo, melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract.
4.  Stir in dried fruit, and nuts if so inclined, and spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5.  Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and set.

Serve hot with a splash of soy milk.

Later this week, I will be posting another hot breakfast option:  CARROT CAKE OATMEAL!

A slightly blurry sneak peak!