The Outcome...

Ok, so as always baking never goes as smoothly as you plan.  When planning to make the Sugar-Free Mom recipe for baked oatmeal, I was careful to ensure I had all necessary ingredients.  Even purchasing the couple of things missing.  But clearly I overlooked one important thing, baking powder!  You can imagine my frantic outcry when I had the entire batter almost complete minus this very important thing.  Luckily I was able to research and found that baking soda can be used but you must cut the amount in half.  Catastrophe averted!

The recipe is really simple and I only made a couple of changes.  First off I used the 1/2 cup of honey as my sweetener, which was great.  Second, I added a scoop of vanilla protein powder.  This made it a touch sweeter I'm sure and it added nutritional value.  The recipe was super runny as Sugar-Free Mom said it would be.  However, unlike the 18 muffins she made, my mix made 24!  Which was fine as most of them went into the freezer.  For my toppings I used pecans, chocolate chips and apples (actually mixed into batter).  All three turned out great.  The apples in the batter were great and I think I will do more fruit next time.

As for taste... which is really the most important thing, hubby has yet to try one.  He did taste the raw batter, which he said was good and he said they smelled good.  These muffins are best eaten warm!  I tried one cold and it wasn't so great, but as soon as you warm it up... way yummy and great with a cup of coffee.  I think kids would enjoy these as they can add whatever they want and personalize their baked oatmeal muffins.

So while it was fun and different I'm still searching more breakfast adventures...

Breakfast (literally meaning "breaking the fast" of the night)

I’m a firm believer in breakfast…   This has not always been the case.  In recent years I’ve experienced the great benefits of starting my day off with protein, fiber and a small amount of carbs.  However, I’ve also found it difficult to vary my breakfast menu.  So I’d thought I’d embark on the journey to discover new ways to start my day. 

Now, I’m a southern girl, growing up on biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon and fried eggs and while that will for sure fill you up, you can also feel your arteries clogging with every bite.    Lately I’ve discovered the 100 calorie English Muffins, great toasted with some light creamy Swiss cheese spread and a hard-boiled egg.  Winter time always finds me looking for a hot bowl of oatmeal.  I did smoothies for a while but they got boring, protein dinks get old fast too.  Austin loves chocolate chip waffles but I know those aren’t on my low fat, low sugar, high fiber health plan (I hate the word diet). 

So, here I am on my journey cooking breakfast for one, usually, and trying to keep it fast and healthy.  Luckily I have a Pinterest addiction, offering me a wide arranges of recipes, tips and tricks for accomplishing my goal. 

Today I’ve planned to cook up baked oatmeal muffins thanks to Sugar-Free Mom.  It promises to be diabetic friendly, easy and portable.  I’m sure to make variations along the way.  I can already tell you I plan on using some apples brought to us from our landlords in some of the muffins.  But the details of my baking will follow.  For now, take the time to consider starting your day with a bite of nutrition instead of that donut and danish.