Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Lemon Coconut Baked Oatmeal Cups



We've been doing a great job of reducing the amount of processed foods we eat, but one area is still slaying us: snacks. I cart around what must be a 10-lb snack bag to school pickup, sports activities, and anywhere the kids might decide they can't go on without a snack. So, yeah, anywhere.


To keep things simple (and avoid food waste), I pretty much always keep that filled up with pre-packaged snacks. Generally organic, but still pre-packaged. So I'm on a mission to set ourselves up with more homemade healthy snacks (and also get the kids to realize they are not going to die if they have to wait 20 minutes to eat).

We tried out these Lemon Coconut Baked Oatmeal Cups and they LOVED them. They are completely free of processed sugar, but the honey and coconut flakes make them sweet enough. The kids thought they were super fun to make and I think they'd work equally well for an on-the-go breakfast!

Lemon Coconut Baked Oatmeal Cups 

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 2 eggs (or 6 tbsp water if vegan)
- 3 overripe medium bananas 
- 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (optional, to sweeten)
- zest + juice of 1 large lemon 
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats (use gluten-free if necessary) 
- 1/3 cup unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut 
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. 
- Place flax + water in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside. 
- Place bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork. Add almond butter, almond milk, optional maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and flax eggs. Stir until well-combined. 
- Add oats, baking powder, coconut, and salt, stirring to combine. 
- Spoon batter evenly into muffin tin. 
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Cool for 20 minutes on a cooling rack before carefully removing from muffin tin. 
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. 





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