Baked Oatmeal: Expect the Unexpected

Have you ever read how nutritious boxed cereals are?

Well, if you haven't, it may scare you to read up on it.

Eating the cardboard box may actually give you more nutrition than many boxed cereals.

And yet, when it comes to eating the healthy boxed cereals,

one would almost feel like the box might be tastier.

Add to that the fact that cereal seems to get pricier and pricier every time I look at a box

while it seems a box of it fills up less and less bowls,

and I find that I'm looking for alternatives to the stuff of easy morning meal making.

Enter: Baked oatmeal.

When I was a nanny for my husband's sister,

I was introduced to this dish one morning.

I am not a lover of oatmeal.

I don't hate it, but I certainly don't love it.

But when I tasted this version,

I had to have the recipe.

It is simple,

but different nuts and dried fruits may be added to change it up.

 I started by soaking my oats for 12 hours

as soaking grains is supposed to make them easier to digest.

This time, I added blueberries to the oatmeal...

as well as chia seeds.

Yes, chia seeds again.

I had my kids tell me if they could see the difference between chia seeds

and poppy seeds in the two cups

(an early morning science experiment).

Do you see how the chia seeds become gelatinous?

My son swiped the experiment to stick a straw into the cup so he could stir it up and turn the poppy seeds into a tornado in the cup.

He loves watching the water drain down the tub for the same reason.

Lillie sometimes sneaks into the bathroom and sticks her finger into the tornado he is so patiently watching as the water disappears down the drain.
She does it, I am sure, for his reaction.

He screams as if he's actually stuck in a tornado

which only proves to make me run in to make sure he isn't being sucked down the drain.

Yes, gotta love the way siblings adore each other.

Eating a serving of this oatmeal is a sure way to provide strength for the coming day,

including all the unexpected situations it may hold. 

Just take a bite.

See, unexpected, wasn't it?

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BakedOatmeal.pdf