Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

I'm back into my baked oatmeal phase. This one is a blended oatmeal, one that tastes just like pumpkin pie and has a similar custardy texture. With no added sugar and four whole eggs, this is a great, protein-filled breakfast!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 c pumpkin

1/2 c water

1 t vanilla

1 c oats, blended 

2 t pie spice

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Directions:

1. Whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, water, and vanilla.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Bake 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

4. Cool and refrigerate before cutting and eating

Inspired by Making Thyme for Health's healthy pumpkin baked oatmeal.

Celebrating National Pumpkin Day (Year Two)

I have slowed my roll on pumpkin stuff, but since it's National Pumpkin Day, might as well celebrate what we have. It's more pumpkin spice than anything this year:

Purchases from Trader's Joe's Pumpkin Palooza (Pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin spice espresso beans, and pumpkin spice coffee)

Pumpkin pie spice rooibos which we went back and bought later

Iced pumpkin spice latte (Gimme Some Oven) 

Pumpkin spice roll cookies (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Pumpkin black bean tacos (Peas and Crayons)

--

I have not stopped liking pumpkin. Maybe I just don't like it so much. We will how the trend continues next year....

Chocolate Oats 2.0

Those of you who know me well know I love chocolate oatmeal in all its many forms. And this year, the hustle and bustle of life helped me invent a new version: the all-in-one jar (or bowl) breakfast. 

I started drinking protein shakes again last fall when I was doing a little more intense weight-lifting program. (I saw "little" because the most I can lift is 40 pounds in a deadlift and my "program" simply looked like lifting weights more intentionally on more frequent occassions." I always liked to drink my protein shakes in a whipped up latte form, but then I got busy and didn't have time. One day I threw the protein powder into my oats and added my traditional applesauce and cocoa and was like, "Wow! This actually tastes good!"

I started in on protein powders in college and went from soy to whey to a vegan blend. I stuck with that blend from Sunwarrior for awhile. (I read a review that said Sunwarrior's Warrior blend had a complete amino acid profile, and I was trying to eat more vegetarian at the time.) When I moved to Arizona, I found Trader Joe's vanilla protein powder and changed to that. It's my favorite at this point because it stirs into oats easily and has natural sweetness from coconut sugar. (I find Sunwarrior's blend more earthy and powdery tasting. It's also sweetened with stevia, which I don't like.) But I digress. Any protein powder will work for these oats, so on to the recipes!

Stove-top:

1/2 c quick-cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1 scoop protein powder

Directions:

1. Bring water and oats to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa powder, applesauce, spices, and protein powder. Add more water, if neede
3. When oats reach the desired consistency, transfer oatmeal to a bowl and enjoy!

Overnight:

1/3 c quick-cooking oatmeal
2/3 c water
1/2 c applesauce
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 scoop protein powder

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a jar and stir.
2. Refrigerate overnight.

Tell me: Which version of chocolate oats did you try? Which was your favorite? Please share in the comments section.

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Apple with Maple Peanut Butter Drizzle

Hooray! I've reached my final day of oatmeal, and I wanted to celebrate with a special bowl of porridge. Enter pumpkin apple oats with a maple peanut butter drizzle.

The Oatmeal Artist has done pumpkin apple before, but what makes this bowl special is the maple peanut butter over the smooth, spicy, and warm porridge. See all that melted peanut butter gooeyness on top of the oats? Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
2 T pumpkin puree
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1 apple, diced
1 T peanut butter
1 t maple syrup
1 t coconut oil

Directions:

1. Combine diced apple, oats, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Transfer oats to a bowl.
4. In a separate pan, melt peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Drizzle over oats and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Pie and Gingered Applesauce

The Oatmeal Artist has made quite a few swirl recipes, so I decided to try my hand at developing a swirl bowl for myself. In my bowl, I combined pumpkin pie and gingered applesauce.

Let me tell you, I am a fan! Creamy pumpkin custard plus warm, sweet gingered apple? Mmm! This may be a fall-ish recipe, but I argue that you can enjoy it anytime.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 c applesauce
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, combine oats and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, separate oats into two pans. Into one pan, add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Into the other pan, add the applesauce, ginger, and vanilla.
3. Stir oats until all ingredients are mixed and warm.
4. Transfer oats to a bowl, making sure to keep sides separated. (I used a silicone spatula for this purpose.)
5. Swirl the flavors together and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Chocolate Bowl Cake with Pumpkin Oatmeal Custard Topping

Hungry for a healthy dessert? Or a decadent breakfast? Don’t want to turn on the oven, but want something cakey? Try this chocolate bowl cake with pumpkin oat custard topping!

I discovered mug cakes via Chocolate Covered Katie and Happy Herbivore. Then I stumbled upon the collection of mug cakes at Kirbie's Cravings. I tried her skinny pumpkin mug cake and was absolutely hooked.

I’ve found, however, that mug cakes work just as well in bowls as they do in mugs. And I find bowls more convenient.

For this recipe, I combined the wonders of the chocolate mug cake with pumpkin custard.

I prefer to soak the whole cake with milk to make it extra sweet and squishy (and to cool down the cake so that I can eat it more quickly), but if you like dense cakes and have patience to wait for the cake to cool, feel free to skip this step.

Ingredients:

For the cake-

¼ c whole wheat flour

¼ t baking powder

Dash of salt

1 t cinnamon

1 T cocoa powder

2 T pumpkin puree

¼ c milk

1 t liquid sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup, or molasses)

For the pumpkin oat custard topping-

2 T quick cooking oats

¼ t pumpkin pie spice

1 t brown sugar

2 T pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.

2. Stir in the pumpkin puree, milk, and sweetener until thoroughly mixed. (Add extra liquid if necessary.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the oats, pie spice, and brown sugar.

4. Add the pumpkin puree to the oat mixture and stir until combined.

5. Top chocolate cake mixture with oat custard and microwave for three minutes on high.

6. Pour milk over cake to soak it, and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Almond Butter Mug Cake

Here's something different for you: a mug cake/microwave baked oatmeal recipe. This recipe features pumpkin and almond butter and cooks up quite nicely. (Make sure to add enough liquid, though!)

This recipe isn't sweet, so feel free to add in a teaspoon of maple syrup if you like.

Ingredients:

1/3 c quick cooking oats
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c pumpkin puree
2-4 T milk or water

Directions:

1. Grease a small cup and add oats and spices. Stir to mix.
2. Add pumpkin puree and 2 T milk water. Stir. If mixture is dry, stir in more liquid 1 T at a time.
3. Microwave three minutes.
4. Let cool for two minutes and then dig in!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Pie Spiced Oats with Orange Vanilla Almond Butter

I went with a simple base for oatmeal again, since I wanted to experiment with more nut butter mixes. This orange almond butter smelled fresh and exhilarating, but when I went to eat it, the orange was a big too much. Lucky for you, I reduced the amount of extract by half for the posted recipe.

Again, nothing special about the oat base, but the nut butter topping is a nice, lighter twist on a regular bowl of oats.

Ingredients for the porridge:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
4 t dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon

Ingredients for the orange vanilla almond butter:

2 T almond butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 t orange extract
Enough water to make the mixture spreadable (about 1 T)

Directions:

1. Bring the oats and water to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa powder and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the orange vanilla almond butter ingredients until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the porridge into a bowl and top with the nut butter mixture.