NEW RECIPE: Fruity Baked Oatmeal with Sugar-free Blueberry Compote

This recipe has a couple of interesting inspirations to it. The first is the actual baked oatmeal component. I got the idea from Gordon Ramsay, who made a baked oatmeal as part of his "Home Cooking" TV series. It's a quick, delicious, and healthy way to use up fresh oats without stressing over a pot of oatmeal. It was also incredibly simple, with just oatmeal and liquid absolutely necessary to make it. 

The second part of my inspiration for this recipe actually came from a Netflix documentary I watched as part of one of my food science classes (shoutout/thanks to Professor Matthew Lange for making us watch it, it was eye-opening!) This documentary, titled "Forks Over Knives", describes the benefits of switching to a diet focused on whole foods and plants. Cutting animal products completely out of a diet, the documentary claims, extremely reduces risks of cancer, hypertension, heart disease, and many other factors. As a food scientist, I could agree fully with this documentary. It actually inspired me to do my own trial period of whole foods, plant-based dieting. This is my first recipe based off of that. 

I'm using a pure unsweetened cashew milk as the liquid to add protein and flavor to the oatmeal. Vanilla and cinnamon are the two sole flavors, with the only sugar in this recipe coming from the natural fruit (even for the compote!) This makes the recipe sweet and flavorful, but healthy at the same time! 

Recipe serves 10-12 people.

For the Oatmeal:

2 Pink Lady Apples, cored and diced
2 Bosc Pears, cored and diced
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 tbsp lemon juice (squirt over the apples and pears to keep from oxidizing)
5 cups dried quick oats
5 cups unsweetened cashew milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla pod, seeds removed and added)

For the Blueberry Compote:

8 oz whole blueberries, washed
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Sprigs of mint for garnish

Cooking/Assembling:

1) Preheat your oven to 380 degrees F.

2) Combine the oats, apples, pears, and cinnamon stick in a baking dish. Pour over the cashew milk and vanilla extract/seeds, then mix to combine as well. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

3) Add the blueberries and water to a saucepan, and bring up to a boil, swirling occasionally. When the blueberries have all popped and burst, add in your lemon juice and reduce the liquid until it sticks to a spoon, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool in the fridge until ready to serve your oatmeal.

4) Top portions of oatmeal with your blueberry compote and a sprig of mint, then serve!

This recipe is all about convenience, as the time involved with this recipe is absolutely minimal but packs amazing flavor and health! With no extra sugar, this still manages to be a relatively sweet dessert. The lemon juice brings out the natural sweetness of the blueberries in the compote, while the cashew milk and vanilla do the same as the fruit bakes into the liquid. It's definitely an amazing and healthy alternative for dessert or breakfast that you should give a go!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know what you think or what I should change. If you make it at home, let me know how it turns out! Enjoy! =)