Let's Talk Peanut Butter {Baked Oatmeal}

I love peanut butter. It makes anything taste good! It is good for you too. Nuts are amazing. Full of essential nutrients like manganese, vitamin E, folate, fiber and of course protein, they are a great natural food choice. They contain monounsaturated fats like olive oil for a healthy heart. Eating these nuts in “butter” form makes it easy to add to many dishes and smoothies. But, NOT all peanut and other nut butters are equal. Most commercial nut butters are loaded with hydrogenated oils(trans fats), sugar and chemicals. Look for natural peanut butters and check the ingredients. There should not be more than two ingredients. Peanuts (or other nut) and salt. It is even better if you can get unsalted as salt is usually added what your making anyways. These peanut butters need to be refrigerated after opening. And don’t dump off that oil at the top of the jar. This is a great healthy fat and without it your peanut butter will be dry and crumbly.

Baked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups milk (dairy, almond or coconut)
1 apple, grated with skin
½ cup sliced almonds
½ cup raisins
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup, honey or agave


Preheat oven to 400°. Grease 9x13 glass dish. Mix all ingredients and pour into dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. About 6 servings.

Eat warm. I like to top this with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter OR put into a bowl and pour a little milk on top. This is a great dish leftover. Easy and clean meal to grab and microwave in a hurry.

By the way, this is a complete meal made from my food storage(except the apple) but you could use dehydrated apples too, re-hydrated and chopped.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie “Dough”

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Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie “Dough”

2 Tbsp natural creamy peanut butter ( I use Costco’s organic, just peanuts and salt)
½ Tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
¼ cup dry rolled oats
1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 Tbsp bittersweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients. Store in refrigerator.

Pizza Night

Tonight I made pizza for dinner. I love making pizza from scratch. It is so much healthier and really is simple. I changed up the recipe for the dough tonight by replacing some of the olive oil with coconut oil. I also added 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed. This didn't really change the flavor but made the texture a little better and added more nutrients! I mess around with toppings. The kids love turkey pepperoni and cheese. I usually try to add more veggies on mine than cheese but tonight went with a more "authentic" pizza using ricotta cheese and fresh chopped basil. It was so good! Try this one.

Pizza Dough

1 Cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour (1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached & 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)

Sauce

1 15oz. can tomato sauce
Seasonings (Italian seasoning, garlic powder, fresh herbs) to taste

Combine water and yeast in mixer and let rest 5 minutes. Add honey, salt and oil. Slowly mix in flour (and flax, if using). Let rise in warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 450°. Roll out dough to desired size. I make individual pizzas and it makes about 5- 7" pizzas. Prick dough with fork. Place on greased sheet and bake on bottom rack for 4 minutes. Top with sauce and desired toppings. Return to the oven for an additional 3-4 minutes or until cheese melts. Enjoy!!