Baked apple oatmeal bites

I am a sucker for a delicious oatmeal situation, especially if it includes cinnamon & apples so I decided to make a version that you could enjoy from the comfort of your couch or on-the-go.

I said that they were 'bites' not necessarily 'bite-sized'.

I am not sure if it's the cooler weather or pregnancy cravings but I have been on the oatmeal train big time lately. The only annoying thing about it is I want hot oatmeal which means I have to stir a pot of oatmeal for 20+ minutes which I rarely feel like doing lately. I could easily make overnight oats and heat them up (overnight oats are EASY & I have a Pumpkin Spice recipe here), what I really have been wanting is apples in my oatmeal. And cooking some apples separately to add to overnight oats defeats the goal of "easy as possible". Insert my idea on a rainy Tuesday morning here - Baked Apple Oatmeal Bites.

I love it when I have everything I think I am going to need for a recipe is already in my pantry & fridge.

I knew that in order for me to be really proud of this oatmeal recipe I was gonna need to add in some quality fats and some extra protein because #balance. So I added in collagen peptides for some extra protein, kept the added sugar relatively low even though it was an unrefined sugar (maple syrup), eggs for more protein and fat (also needed for volume since I was baking), pecans and some whole-fat organic coconut milk for more quality fats. Not gonna lie, I ate two of these shortly after photographing and I was FULL. Like possibly a little too full. So my ideal is to have one with some eggs for breakfast or some breakfast sausage or to use as a mid-morning snack. These also will freeze amazingly and then can be thawed out in the fridge. 100% chance I am going to make some before giving birth and keep them in the freezer as an easy go-to with the new baby.

Brb. Gonna go eat a third one now.

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Baked Apple Oatmeal Bites

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups gluten-free organic oats (not quick oats!)

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 2 tsp. cinnamon

• ½ tsp. nutmeg

• ½ tsp. salt

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 1.5 cups coconut milk*

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 4 tbsp. grass-fed butter, melted**

• 4 scoops of collagen peptides

• ¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped***

• 1 medium-sized organic apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (~1 cup)

*you can sub your choice of nut milk or organic whole milk for coconut milk

**you can make 100% dairy-free by subbing ghee for grass-fed butter

***recipe can be made nut-free by removing pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray muffin pan with avocado oil or generously coat with cold butter.

2. In a small mixing bowl, add oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt. Mix until combined.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla, butter & collagen until well combined.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until combined. Stir in apples & pecans.

5. Fill each muffin with the mixture to the top with a ladle.

6. Bake 25-30 minutes until tops are golden brown & firm.

7. Cool in the pan for 5-10 min & then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling down.

8. Store in the fridge in an airtight container up to a week. Can be eaten cold or heated in the microwave. Freezes great too! Just defrost in fridge overnight when thawing.