March 6, 2010

Not feeling your oats? Try these!




Eat oatmeal for the heart.

We've heard it over and over.

We have also learned that it is a bad cholesterol reducer, but dog-nash it, it reminds me of my youth. Cold winter mornings before heading off to Catholic school.

Years before they realized that we were victims of Nun-abuse, I cowered at the breakfast table, 20 below outside, plaid skirt hiked up to high-heaven, knees exposed, we were not allowed to wear leggings until we reached the upper grades!

My mother said the "oatmeal will keep you warm".

So, every school day morn, there sat my oatmeal, in a bowl, steaming, lumpy, yuck (sorry mom) with nothing fancy or edible about it!

Nowadays, there are times, if I happen into a quaint "Mom & Pop" diner, I will order oatmeal, with brown sugar (like my grandma used to make it) and a non-dairy cream, but that is not often enough for me to reap the health benefits ~ So what do I do?

I make breakfast bars!

I make all varieties, and I really need to be honest here - they came about from a BAD batch of cookies! My son exclaimed one day, after I slaved an hour of baking him chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, that they "Looked funny, like a breakfast bar" so I ran with it.

As long as I tell him they're "Breakfast Bars" and NOT cookies, he devours them.

SO, I made a batch today and thought to share it with you. They were particularly yummy and I did, in fact, eat them for breakfast with a glass of coconut milk ( No, not from a can, it comes in gallons at Whole Food like regular milk and is SO good!).

1 1/3 cup rolled oats.

1 cup wheat flour

1 tbsp coconut oil

dash of nutmeg

dash of salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp agava syrup

1 tbsp grape-seed oil

1 tbsp coconut milk

1 handful of chocolate chips and raisins.

Add liquid ingredients to dry in a glass bowl. Mix and roll into small flat balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 7 minutes, take them out and flip them. Return to oven and bake another 7 minutes, flattening slightly with a spatula.

Remove them and cool on a wire rack. They should be ready soon!

They should be cooked on the outside yet moist in the center.

They are also perfect for on the go and are completely vegan!

Enjoy!





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3 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

House:

both my wife and I went to Catholic schools, where we used to pray for the "pagan babies", who turned out to be anyone who wasn't Catholic ..

her mother made her oatmeal every morning, and Sharon hared it. She called it 'mush". She still doesn't eat it today, although once a twice a week I'll have it with molasses and brown sugar.

However, she DOES make some great chocolate chip oatmelat cookies, so I passed on your recipe to her ..

Tom Brennan said...

Speaking of Cath9olic schools ...

If you get a chance, see "Late Night Catechism" ..

It's a riot !!

Unknown said...

I have not seen "Late Night Catechism" it sounds like a hoot, Tom!

Glad to know Sharon knows about the "oatmeal blues"!

I am sure her cookies are WAY better than mine, but the recipe is quick and my kiddo eats them without spitting them out!!!