Strawberry Pineapple Oatmeal Bake

The other day I shared with you about porridge pancakes using leftover oatmeal. Today I am sharing one of my family's favorite breakfasts... Oatmeal Bake.

Really, you can't go wrong with oatmeal bake. So satisfying, nourishing, delicious & simple. Do I need to say more?

For those of you who are in the cold winter months right now... this will bring a little bit of sunshine and tropical warmth right into your kitchen!

My favorite way of enjoying a hot piece is surrounding it with a deep moat of fresh milk, 2 thick slices of butter and a heavy drizzle of raw honey or real maple syrup. Sometimes I throw some fresh fruit on top, if I didn't use it all for the bake!

Oh la la! Mmmm!

What I love about oatmeal bake is I can use whatever fresh & dried fruits, spices and nuts I have sitting in my kitchen. Since making my first oatmeal bake (inspired by Wardee's recipe), I've made at least 10 different varieties of oatmeal bake.

This is one of our top 3 favorites and...no... I am not sharing with you the other 2 (grin), you will have to wait another time for those  ;o)

Strawberry Pineapple Oatmeal Bake

• 6 cups regular rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whey, raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or sourdough starter
• 8 cups water

Combine oats, choice of acid and water in a big bowl. Cover and let it soak overnight (if using sourdough) or up to 24 hours (using whey, vinegar or lemon juice).

NOTE: I usually use sourdough starter to soak my oatmeal overnight. I learned from my friend, Wardeh, at GNOWGFLINS that sourdough starter improves the effectiveness of soaking by adding phytase to reduce phytic acid and organisms to accomplish an overnight soaking effectively. Don't worry, it won't be sour as long as you drain and lightly rinse the oats in the morning!

• 1/2 cup lightly melted butter, coconut oil or olive oil
• 2 cups coconut milk or whole milk
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup rapadura or palm sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1-2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup dried pineapple
• 1 cup coconut flakes

Morning arrives: preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Drain the oats through a fine sieve. Gently rinse and allow to drain while mixing together other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together butter, milk, eggs, sweetener, vanilla, almond, nutmeg and sea salt. Add in strawberries, pineapple, coconut flakes and oats. Mix it all together gently, yet well.

Pour oatmeal mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Smooth out the top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. It should be golden brown when done. Insert a knife or toothpick, it should come out clean when the bake is done.

Take bake out of the oven and set it on a cooking rack. Let it cool for about 15 - 30 to set before cutting into bars.

Enjoy it simply topped with butter and raw honey... or do it my way (read above)... Store leftovers in the fridge, but you can leave it out for a day.

Excellent snacks for around the house, park, traveling via airplane or car!!

What are you favorite ingredients for a good, nourishing Oatmeal Bake??

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Got Extra Porridge? Make Porridge Pancakes!

If you are like me... you probably make porridge a couple times a week, right? Do you make each batch fresh? I don't! I usually like to soak 4-6 cups of oatmeal to make a large pot of oatmeal porridge once every week. Of course, soaking it first overnight or up to 24 hours for optimal nutrition.

Then I always have at least enough leftover for another morning of oatmeal.

Leftover oatmeal makes an even quicker breakfast in the mornings when you gotta get going or if the hubby has to make breakfast. Oatmeal porridge stores really well in the fridge for a long while. I've accidentally left a container of oatmeal porridge in the fridge for longer than 2 weeks a few times and it would be just fine!

But...

There are days when oatmeal porridge just doesn't sound appealing (even with toppings and all!), but its really all you've got at hand... had those days before?

I've had mornings where I am looking at a big container of leftover oatmeal and can't really bring myself to warm it up, but what else is there to eat?! Eggs... not enough. Toast... nada. Pancakes... no time.

You get the picture.

There are days where I am looking at only 3 eggs and my girls are crying because we are having oatmeal again and they want eggs.

Then one morning, it hit me... Pancakes! Duh!

Now, that got my girlies happy again. Who doesn't like pancakes?! Plus, it only requires 2 main ingredients... eggs and porridge. For every cup of porridge you will need 1 - 2 eggs (I usually use 2, but my hubby has done it with one egg). Then you can add in spices and fruit, if you like. Simple and easy!

Not only is porridge pancakes good for breakfast, but it is a fantastic mid-morning or afternoon snack. You can use any kind of porridge you have on hand. So, make sure you make extra porridge next time you cook up a batch for breakfast!

Porridge Pancakes

• 2 cups porridge
• 2-4 eggs
• sea salt
• spices
• fresh or dried fruit
• coconut oil or butter

Measure our roughly 2 cups of porridge and break it up as much as possible. Add in eggs and continue to break up the porridge until smooth and completely mixed in. If you don't get the eggs well incorporated into the porridge, the pancakes will not hold together well. You can use your KitchenAid Standing Mixer or a hand mixer for this job... it will get it done much quicker. Or if you don't have either, which I didn't for a long time, just use some good arm action!

Add in a few dashes of sea salt, spices and your choice of fresh or dried fruit. Stir until combined.

Warm up your cast-iron pan and add in your choice of oil or butter. Allow the pan to get hot before getting started with the batter. Don't make the pancakes too big or they might fall apart while flipping it over. Best to make them mini-pancakes.

These pancakes take a little while to cook, so be patience. Don't flip them until the edges are  brown and crispy. Once you've flip the pancakes, it should take less time for the second side to cook.

You should get about 6-8 small pancakes out of this. Enjoy with some real maple syrup or raw honey!

Shared on Simple Lives Thursday & Pennywise Platter Thursday & Fight Back Fridays

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