BAKED OATS

At university I was queen of the fancy breakfasts. I did an English degree which meant a lot of reading and writing and not all that much time actually in a uni lecture hall. Now-a-days however I eat (or drink) most of my breakfasts from a jar (because obviously they still need to look pretty), and so certain recipes have fallen by the way-side; and one of those is baked oats.

I have to admit that the main reasons for my bowl-less breakfasts is the gym and that I like to train early. I love to get up and get going; it makes me feel energetic and strong - setting me up for a good day always. And I love the gym, I do, but one something I’m working on at the moment is flexing that self-love muscle (lolz, excuse the pun) and with being kind to myself comes a little more rest.

So this morning I swapped my gym kit for PJ’s, the jar for a bowl and made something warm and gooey for breakfast. The result? Baked oats.

Baking oatmeal is no more complicated than cooking them in the pan, in fact it’s probably more simple. But doing so adds a different (and downright delicious) gooey dimension to them. I would explain further but I'm convinced it's something you have to try yourself to understand. Oats for dinner? If you insist!

Ingredients: {serves 1}

• ½ cup of oats

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 cup almond milk

• 1 banana

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

• A few strawberries (optional)

Method:

• Begin by pre-heating the oven to 180 degrees and lining a baking dish with grease-proof paper.

• Combine the oats and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

• Mash ¾ of the banana and add to the dry mixture along with the almond milk and vanilla. Mix well.

• Slice the remaining banana (and strawberries if including these) and arrange on top.

• Pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes (it will be super hot!) Top with honey, peanut butter, fresh fruit… and enjoy!