Apricot & Peach Baked Oatmeal with Chia & Flax

Serves 8

There’s nothing quite like making a big batch on a lazy Saturday morning and enjoying it fresh out of the oven with a nice dollop of creamy yogurt….BUT this is the weekend gift that keeps on giving. I am all-too-often guilty of never having time for a proper breakfast during the week, so the fact that I can enjoy this cold for the next few days is an enormous added bonus to an already delicious start to the day. It keeps me full all morning long, with nutritionally dense and wholesome ingredients. And I love how versatile it can be, changing up the fruits depending on the season….stay tuned for an Autumn apple version since my garden is currently bursting with almost-ready apples.

One serving provides 274 calories, 9g of protein and a huge 10g of fibre.

INGREDIENTS

· 185g Wholegrain Oats — gluten free
· 25g Flaked Almonds
· 25g Sunflower Seeds
· 2 tbsp Chia Seeds
· 2 tbsp Ground Flaxseeds
· 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
· 110g Maple Syrup
· 1 tsp Baking Powder
· ½ tsp Salt
· 350ml Milk (I used unsweetened Almond Milk)
· 2 Large Eggs (or Flax Eggs)
· 1½ tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)
· 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
· 3 Apricots
· 2 Peaches

METHOD

· Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
· Grease a 22cm square baking dish. (I didn’t have mine to hand so used a much bigger tart dish, but still worked great).
· Toast the flaked almonds and sunflower seeds in a clean dry frying pan over a medium heat, keeping constant watch and stirring frequently because they can burn pretty quickly. They only take around 3–4 minutes to start to brown nicely.
· In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, chia seeds, flaxseeds, toasted nuts and seeds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
· In another bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup, eggs (or flax eggs), melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
· Mix well until fully combined.
· Note — If the coconut oil solidifies when it comes in contact with the cold milk, put in the mixture in the microwave for 40 seconds or so, just until the coconut oil melts again.
· Wash and slice the fruit.
· Place half of the fruit on the bottom of the dish and keep the rest for putting on top at the end.
· Sprinkle the dry mixture over the fruit until fully covered.
· Pour the wet ingredients over the top of the oats.
· Gently shake the baking dish to make sure the wet mixture covers over all of the oats.
· Arrange the remaining fruit on top and press down slightly.
· Bake for approximately 40–45 minutes, until the top is nice and golden.
· Remove from the oven and serves immediately with some yogurt.

Nutritional Information

Calories — 274
Carbohydrates — 38g
Fat — 11g
Protein — 9g
Fibre — 10g
Vitamin C — 5%
Vitamin A –10%
Iron — 15%
Calcium — 22%