Double Chocolate Pumpkin Baked Oats

Dessert for Breakfast? yes please!

Behold!  This is THE ultimate weekend breakfast.  This is the type of breakfast that dreams are made of (well, my kinda dreams anyway!).  It is like having a sweet and seemingly indulgent dessert for breakfast that also just happens to be full of wholesome and nourishing ingredients that will keep you more than satisfied until lunchtime.  It is also gluten-free and dairy-free, has as much protein in it as two eggs, has a ton of fibre and is loaded with Vitamin A.   

 I don’t know about you, but despite loving this Halloween-y time of year, I am not actually a big fan of eating pumpkins themselves.  I much prefer a butternut squash.  But there is some hidden pumpkin puree in this recipe that even the most pumpkin-suspicious taste buds wouldn’t be able to detect (and that includes my very suspicious 5 year old son).  It just gives a hit of some added goodness in the form of the antioxidant beta carotene, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t want some added immune-boosting with their chocolate breakfast?

I love recipes that can be made all in one bowl with minimal washing up.  I also love the fact that there is no right way to add the ingredients – you don’t need to sift flour or make a well for the eggs – simply chuck in all of the ingredients and mix well!  That makes it a particularly good recipe if you have little hands helping you too.

This healthy chocolate baked oatmeal is perfect fresh out of the oven with a side of berries, but can also be enjoyed cold over the next few days. It is the gift that keeps on giving and serves me well as a quick breakfast during the week if I make it on a Sunday.  If we are not going to eat it all in one go, I like to make it in individual ramekins instead of a big dish.  That way I just freeze the ramekins separately and know that I have a batch of filling and nourishing breakfasts in the freezer for those weekends that I am too busy or tired to cook. 

Each serving provides 301 calories, 12g of protein and a whopping 44% of my daily Vitamin A thanks to the antioxidant rich pumpkin puree. It also contains over 25% of my daily fibre requirements thanks to the Omega-3 rich Chia & Flaxseeds, as well as wholegrain oats.  

WHOLESOME INGREDIENTS

·      190g Wholegrain Oats
·      60g Mixed Nuts & Seeds (I used 20g Pumpkin Seeds, 20g Sunflower Seeds & 20g Flaked Almonds)
·       30g Unsweetened Chocolate Protein Powder (I used That Protein Brown Rice with Cacao Powder)
·       2 tbsp Chia Seeds
·       2 tbsp Ground Flaxseeds
·       100g Maple Syrup
·       1 tsp Baking Powder
·       350ml Milk (I used unsweetened oat milk)
·       2 Large Eggs 
·       1½ tbsp Coconut Oil - Melted
·       2 tsp Vanilla Extract
·       1 Banana
·       100g Pumpkin Puree
·       Dark Chocolate Buttons  

ONE BOWL METHOD

· Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
· Grease a 22cm square baking dish.  
· In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana and add the pumpkin puree.
· Combine all of the other ingredients (apart from the chocolate buttons) and mix well until fully combined – it really doesn’t matter what order they go in!
· Pour the mixture into a baking dish and arrange the chocolate buttons on the top.
· Bake for approximately 40–45 minutes if using a large dish, or 20-25 minutes if using several smaller ramekins.
· Remove from the oven and serve immediately with some berries.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories — 301
Carbohydrates — 34g
Fat — 13 g
Protein — 12g
Fibre — 7g 
Vitamin A – 44%
Calcium – 11%
Iron – 13%