Healthy baked oatmeal

So I just made this one up.... Out of nowhere. I wanted a treat for night snack and this is what happened! Even Curtis liked it. (With ice cream... But still!!)

Healthy baked oatmeal:

- 1 1/3 cup quick oats

- 1/4 cup sugar of choice (I used palm sugar, but honey or brown sugar would be okay too)

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp allspice

- 1 pinch salt

- 3 eggs (free run)

- 1 mashed banana

- 1 tbsp vanilla (I use homemade)

- 1 tsp maple extract (almond, rum or coconut extract would also taste good!)

- 1/2 an apple chopped very small

- 1/2 generous cup blueberries

- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used coconut)

Mix your dry ingredients and add wet ingredients right to the bowl of dry. Lastly add your fruit. Stir it up and pour into an 8 or 9 Inch square pan. 

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until the top is dry ish and springs back when lightly pressed. 

I make this into four servings for a full serving of oats, fruit and only 2 ish tsp of sugar!! (Good with some maple syrup tho...:) I would also add some chopped nuts to the batter next time!

Plantain deceptions!!

These recipes are both adapted minimally from "the paleo mom" seriously... Check her out. Amazing blog!

Two recipes today involving my new discovery: plantains. Pancakes and crackers!

Plantain is More like a potato than a banana really (in how you use it), and classified as a vegetable actually, but a member of the banana family all the same.  http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/09/perfect-paleo-pancakes.html

This link takes you to the original pancake recipe, but if you scroll down, she has an excellent little video about how to use plantains! If you have never worked with them, check it out!

First, plantain crackers! Only three ingredients: plantains, coconut oil and salt... (I added some sesame seeds)

Melt your coconut oil, chop up your plantains and add in your salt. Purée this mix until it is perfectly smooth

Like this... It's super thick. 

Like... "Thicker than DQ" thick. 

Dump this out onto a large (like 13" is the short end) parchment lined baking sheet. 

You can try to spread it with the back of a spoon, but this is as far as I got. 

I just cut a second piece of parchment and used something with a flat edge (no idea what this is!) to scrape it out nice and thin. Be careful not to accidentally scrape it so thin you can see your pan underneath. But you do want it quite thin. This step takes a little while. 

Next I sprinkled mine with sesame seeds (feel free to, or not, or use something else like flax, chia or poppyseed, etc...) and pop it in the oven for the first measure of time. 

The original recipe calls to score the tray into cracker pieces, but I found it looked like this in the end on the places I didn't cut all the way through. 

So if you want pretty uniform crackers you will want to make sure you cut all the way through. a pizza wheel works best for this.  After your second baking time you are done! The time is a bit flexible. If your plantains are bigger the mix will be thicker and your bake time longer. If they are smaller, your bake time will be shorter. The easiest way to do this is to just eat one after 60 minutes. Then add 10-20 minutes depending on how crispy they are. 

I let mine cool on paper towels before baggig them up. They will keep on your counter for a week, but I store them in my freezer so I don't feel rushed to eat them all. 

Plantain crackers:

2 lg green plantains

1/2 cup coconut oil 

1 tsp salt

Sesame seeds

Peel and slice plantain. Purée well with coconut oil and salt. Spread evenly in a large cookie sheet until quite thin. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and Bake at 300 for ten minutes, then remove and score with pizza wheel and bake 60-80 min longer. Cool completely and store on counter, fridge or freezer

Now for perfect plantain pancakes!

These are best fresh and hot but are also a decent substitute after freezing and toasting. They aren't sweet at all so you will have to add your own sweetner or use them like a biscuit and top with something savory!

Yup that is it!  

Cut and peel your plantains, and stick it all in your blender and purée until smooth. It should be easier to do than the crackers. 

It is also much more batter-like. Now you just use it like regular pancake mix. Only it is a bit thicker so I spread it out in the pan with the back of a spoon. 

Yum! Let it cook until bubbles form and are popping, then flip and cook a little longer till done!

Plantain paleo pancakes

-2 green plantains

- 4 eggs

- 1 tbsp vanilla

- 3-4 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 pinch salt

Peel and chop plantains. Blend all ingredients together. Scoop by 1/4 cup fulls onto pre-heated and greased pan/griddle. Cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook until done. Serve immediately or freeze and toast when ready to use.