Maple Baked Oatmeal (sugar-free)

Yeah, my cutting board is stained. So?

I feel like I'm running a test kitchen for every possible palatable version of baked oatmeal. That being said, it's a worthwhile endeavor. I know there are those who love their gummy, gooey bowl of porridge in the morning, but I'm not one of them nor is my husband so I'm trying to extract all of the benefits of oat consumption without the texture issues. This latest incarnation was inspired not only by my husband's love of maple, but also the fact that we have run out of peanut butter from Costco and Japanese peanut butter costs a lot more than the vats of Skippy you can get at Costco. The peanut butter version, by the way, is a big favorite of my husband's.

Baked Maple Oatmeal:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 granular Splenda (or use white sugar)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I made my own)
• 1/2 cup skim milk (or use whatever milk you want)
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. imitation maple flavoring (I used McCormick because it's what we have)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F./175 degrees C.

Grease and flour a loaf pan. Whisk the egg, applesauce, milk, Splenda, vegetable oil, salt, vanilla, and maple flavoring together until thoroughly mixed. Add the oats, sprinkle the flour and baking powder on top and mix with a spoon until the flour and baking powder are mixed in and the oats are thoroughly moistened. The mixture should be fairly wet compared to the other types of baked oatmeal I've listed. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until set (check with a toothpick or tester). Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool completely before cutting. Cut into 6 servings.

whole loaf: 663 calories
1 serving (1/6): 111 calories

This turned out incredibly moist, far moister than the other versions. It was also softer and more cake-like. It makes me wonder if I ought to modify the pumpkin version so that it is wetter since this seemed to have a nicer texture. The unsweetened applesauce really does take over pretty effectively for the moisture-inducing properties of both sugar and oil. This also has the most impressive calorie profile per serving because of the small amount of oil. This might be an interesting recipe to vary by using maple syrup if you're looking to avoid artificial sweeteners and don't need to worry about blood sugar fluctuations.

Both my husband and I really liked this and felt it came closer than the other versions to being like a "cake". It's very moist, though still a bit crumbly. I don't particularly care for baked oatmeal, but I really did like this. I could even see serving it as a healthy treat as opposed to a quick, healthy breakfast.


By Shari (Orchid64)