blueberry nut oatmeal bars

I've been on a kind bar kick. Okay, more like an Amazon subscribe and save bender. While the bars have a fairly short shelf life, hopefully indicative of fresh(ish) ingredients and processing, I endeavored to find a homemade version. This isn't it.  But, these bar do straddle a crumble and granola bar. This recipe provides an easy, lower fat and calorie option for those of us who aren't adhering to a (strict) gluten free vegan diet. :) Fair warning: The bars aren't tremendously sweet and the nuts take on a different consistency as a result of absorbing liquid, maybe because I took the lazy way out and used frozen blueberries.  Using fresh or dried would most likely prevent the boiled peanut effect to which some of the chopped nuts fell victim and increasing the sugar or changing it white would help with sweetness.

Yield: 1 pan of bars
125 calories per bar, if cut into 16
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

ingredients

3 cups oats

1 ¼ cup mixed nuts

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups milk 

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In your food processor, chop the nuts.

3. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and stir well until combined.

4. Pour mixture into a baking dish that’s been generously sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool completely then cut into squares.

Original recipe found here.

oatmeal craisin chocolate chip cookies

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. What's more delightful than cookies?

Yield: 3 dozen cookies
140 calories per cookie
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1½ cups oats

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups craisins

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preparation

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and knead, with the paddle attachment, until very well combined.

4. Drop by rounded spoonful onto a cookie sheet.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, and cool on a wire rack.

Original recipe found here.

oatmeal apple muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
130 calories per muffin
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

ingredients

2 cups oats

1/3 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons nutmeg

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 egg

1 apple, finely chopped

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

3. Stir until well mixed.

4. Spoon the batter evenly  into the muffin wells.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes clean, about 15 minutes. Because there isn't any fat (oil or butter) in these muffins, they brown quite quickly and may stick to the liners. If you have silicone muffins liners, I recommend using them.

Original recipe found here.

pumpkin oatmeal bundt

Fall has finally arrived. Not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, this cake is the first of three recipes that use the filling in different (and delicious) ways.

Yield: One bundt cake
140 calories per slice, if cut into 12 slices
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon all-spice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground clove

1¼ cups pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup rice milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup oats

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line your bundt pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl,  combine all the ingredients and stir until well blended.

3. Scoop the batter into the bundt pan. (You'll want to me sure to trim the ends of the parchment paper before putting the pan in the oven.)

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bundt comes out clean, about 40 minutes, turning the bundt pan 180 degrees after about 20 minutes.

5. Turn the bundt out onto a wire rack, slowly peeling back the parchment paper, to cool. See "roasted nectarine greek yogurt chocolate cake" for tips on turning out the bundt.

Original recipe found here.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These cookies are super easy to make and a healthy alternative to your standard oatmeal cookie.  The oat bran and wheat flour give the cookies a delicious nutty flavor, which is rounded out nicely by the chocolate chips and brown sugar.

Yield: 52 small cookies
80 calories per cookie
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

ingredients

2¾ cups oats

1 cup wheat flour

3/4 cup oat bran

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature 

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

preparation
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on high using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer or hand mixer.

3. Add in all the remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips. With the paddle attachment, "stir" until incorporated, about 1 minute.

4. Add in the chocolate chips and "stir" until combined, about 30 seconds.

5. Using a tablespoon, scoop a portion of dough out of the bowl, roll into a ball, and place it onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.

6. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

oatmeal fig muffins

Unlike their dried counterpart, fresh figs are sweet and soft, making them the perfect add-in to any baked good.

Yield: 12 muffins
190 calories per muffin
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole flour

1/2 cup instant oats

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1½ cups almond milk

1¼ cups fresh figs, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the figs.

3. Stir well to combine.

4. Fold in the figs.

5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. The batter is pretty thick, so I like to use the two spoon method wherein I use one spoon to scoop out the batter and the other to scrape it off the first spoon into the liner.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Original recipe found here.

sourdough oat bread

Yield: 2 loaves
1,270 calories per loaf
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: Overnight proof required, about 17 hours

ingredients

1 cup sourdough starter, fed

1½ cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons yeast

3½ cups high gluten flour

1 cup instant oats

2 teaspoons salt

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes. See “seeded multigrain truffle rolls” for photos of fermenting yeast.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the fed starter, flour, oats, salt, and pepper.

3. With the dough hook attached, “stir”.

4. Slowly add in the yeast mixture and continue to “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

5. Increase the stand mixer speed to 2 and knead until a smooth, soft, and cohesive dough forms, about 5 minutes.

6. Turn the dough out onto your counter top, knead by hand a few turns, and shape into a ball.

7. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise until it’s doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

8. Turn the dough out onto your counter top, divide in half, and shape into a loaf.  To eliminate air bubbles, I've been rolling the dough into a rectangle, rolling it into a log, pinching the seams, and rolling the seam on the counter top.

9. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

10. Place the loaves in a loaf pan or on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

11. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

12. Remove the loaves from the fridge and let rise to room temperature, about 2 hours.

13. With about 30 minutes left in the final proof, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

14. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Because the dough is soft, you may want to tent the loaves after 20 minutes to prevent browning. I like to think the browning makes the loaves look rustic. :)

Original recipe found here.