Baked Tropical Steel-Cut Oats...3 New Healthy Meals in a Jar

 

Yesterday I posted My top 10 ways to use and Love Oats  since I'll be teaching a class this Saturday in Chandler, AZ called  "Oat-Standing". The new year is always a great time to recommit to taking care of the wonderful gift of life and health.  I'm excited to see how much better I can be this year!  Perfection is hard to improve but my husband Ace said that he thinks I can still pretend to improve.  Along those lines, I've been really motivated by the story and recipes in this book by Jenny Grothe called 75 Ways to Love Your Oatmeal that I found recently at our Honeyville retail locations! 

Jenny did some remarkable things to get healthy and lose weight. It is a fantastic and motivating read (especially since I'm still on that path toward my goal weight). It sure is  grand adventure isn't it? 
Today we're making a complete protein vegetarian  baked tropical steel cut oat breakfast that uses the addition of soy protein, fiber, natural sweeteners and fruit. It is an ideal combination for combating hunger and aiding in weight loss.

 

 Steel Cut Oatmeal or Oats
Steel cut oats are also commonly called Irish Oatmeal. They’re exactly what the name says, being whole oat groats that have been steel cut into smaller pieces. This shortens the cooking time, but keeps all the nutritional value of the whole oat groats. Look at the  Steel Cut Oats on our Honeyville website.  Steel cut oats have a Glycemic Index of 17. That is pretty low for those who are looking to have a slow burn when their carbohydrates are hitting the blood sugar. The slower the burn, the better for diabetics. 

 

 The next thing I'm adding to my baked oatmeal is unflavored TVP granules. That is the short word-age for textured vegetable protein. "Honeyville's Unflavored Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is actually a meat analogue product made through a special extrusion process which provides a 100% vegetable product that approaches the taste and texture of meat. This highly nutritious vegetarian meat substitute is processed from defatted soy flour which contains more than 52% protein and 18% total dietary fiber." Slow baked, it has a perfect oat-like texture while providing the meal with some added fiber and protein. You'll stay full longer and the unflavored version will take-on whatever flavors it is combined with in a dish. 

 

 Macaroon coconut is an outstanding unsweetened coconut to add to this oatmeal dish. When slow baked it will add a creamy depth to our meal. Plus, I just love coconut and all the surprising health benefits of coconut. 

 

 Here's what it looks like close-up. 

 

The tropical base is at the bottom of the jar and it can be turned into a large number of different flavored baked oatmeal dishes. Today I'm sharing three flavors. In the future we'll do a few more!

 

Tropical base per 1 pint jars:

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Honeyville Oat Bran 34

1/2 cup Honeyville Steel Cut Oats

1/4 cup Honeyville Unflavored TVP

1/4 cup soymilk powder or Honeyville Instant Non-fat dry milk

1/4 cup macaroon coconut (optional)

1/4 cup granulated honey or sugar-free granular erythritol

2 tsp vanilla powder

1/2 tsp salt

 

Directions:

 

Shake the milk powder and granulated honey or erythritol down into the oats and tvp. 

 

 

This base will make 4 servings per pint jar.

Total nutritional value per single  serving on the tropical base:

203 calories,, 25 carb,  8 g fiber, 6 g fat

 

Now add your flavor variations:

 Raspberry Zinger Baked steel-cut Oatmeal
This one tastes like a cross between a berry cobbler and those daggum Hostess zinger cakes that no longer exist  yet I crave. 

 

To your pint jar of tropical base add:

1/2 tsp LorAnn Raspberry flavored oil mixed into the oatmeal mixture  then top with 1 cup freeze dried raspberries and an oxygen absorber. This meal should be shelf-stable 3-5 years. 

 

To prepare:

Combine the jar ingredient in a oven-proof pot  with 4 cups of water and bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. This will yield 4 servings of oat breakfast.

approx nutritional information per serving: 225 cal, 31g carbs, 6g fat, 10 g fiber,  10g protein

 Mango Banana Cream Cake Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal
This breakfast reminds me of a creamy banana cake with the tart sweet addition of mango.

 

To your pint jar of tropical base add:

1 tsp coconut powdered flavoring, 

1/2 tsp banana powder flavoring, 

1 tsp butterscotch or toffee powdered flavoring, 

1/2 cup  Honeyville freeze-dried mango

1/2 cup Honeyville freeze-dried banana

To prepare:

Combine the jar ingredient in a oven-proof pot  with 4 cups of water and bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. This will yield 4 servings of oat breakfast.

approx nutritional information: 235 calories, 33 carb,  10 g fiber, 6 g fat

 Pistachio Spiced-Peach Pie Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal
The addition of a pistachio flavored oil to the base lends a ton of remarkable flavor to this dish without adding the fat of a lot of nuts. It reminds me of a trip to an Italian bakery.

To your pint jar of tropical base add:

1/4 tsp LorAnn pistachio flavored oil

1/2 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend

1 tsp butterscotch powdered flavoring (optional)

blend the flavored oil and powdered flavorings into the oatmeal base.

 

 

Top with 1 cup Honeyville freeze-dried peaches and an oxygen absorber.

Seal tightly. This meal should be shelf stable 3-5 years.

To prepare:

Combine the jar ingredient in a oven-proof pot  with 4 cups of water and bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. This will yield 4 servings of oat breakfast.

Approx nutritional information per serving: 253 calories, 48 carb,  9 g fiber, 6 g fat

There you go! Enjoy some New Year's Meals in a jar for those you love! Xoxo!

Always My Very Best, 

Your Friend Chef Tess