I have had this idea in my head for so long. Carrot cake baked oatmeal… carrot cake baked oatmeal.. I just couldn’t shake it! I typically make this simple baked oatmeal and we just switch up our toppings, but it was high time I got to experimenting with the recipe.

Before we move on, can we just say “Hello, gorgeous!” to that pour shot up there? I actually had a spare minute to get out my tripod, only to realize it wasn’t really working properly.. but somehow I got a pour shot in the midst of it all. I’m a happy food blogger today!

Food blogging is a funny thing. There’s so much that goes into each post that you guys don’t see! I’d invite you to come hang out with me here for a day to see what goes on, but I never actually know what day I’ll be working on “blog stuff.”

Take this oatmeal for instance.

The idea popped into my head months ago. I wrote it down while I was brainstorming blog ideas back in January. I finally got around to making it earlier this week. I waited until mid-day to make it so that I’d be able to photograph it in the afternoon light.. so we didn’t actually eat it for breakfast that day. I waited until the little one took her nap and the big one started his quiet time to start shooting.

I pulled our coffee table over by the window with the best light, grabbed all the toppings and tiny dishes and utensils and set up my shot. I fumbled with the tripod for a while, gave up, got my shots. I hooked up the camera to download and ate one of the servings of oatmeal from the shot. Then I started to clean up.. and ate the other one, ha! (Because, you know, one for me and one for baby. Totally logical.) I looked through the pictures quickly, then I didn’t actually get around to editing them or writing this post until a few days later. Now here we are!

Sometimes the process isn’t drawn out like that, but there’s usually something around here that gets in the way of productivity. Usually my own laziness.. or lack of natural light.

Anyways, loves, this oatmeal is top notch. I’m so happy to share it with you, even if it took months for me to do it.

It’s not complicated to replicate that classic carrot cake taste. The big players are (of course) carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg if you’re feeling funky, raisins, walnuts and coconut, if you’re into it. I will say right now that I am not into pineapple in my carrot cake.. I think adding pineapple makes it more like hummingbird cake (which is also delicious, but is not carrot cake).

But let’s not forget the most important part- the cream cheese. Oh, you have got to have the cream cheese. The cream cheese makes it perfect. (Unless you are dairy-free, but you can top it with this delicious cashew cream instead!) I didn’t want to slather it with frosting (I mean, I did.. but it IS supposed to be breakfast, people), so I spun up an easy cream cheese topping in the blender and it was the best idea EVER, no joke.

You guys, this cream cheese topping.. it just kills it. The picture below explains perfectly. On the left side, you’ll see an appropriate amount of the cream cheese drizzle and toppings. On the right, the obscene amount I drowned my portion with after I took a bite. Then I took another bite and thought, “WHAT THE WHAT?! This stuff is insane!”

Maybe I’m over-reacting about oatmeal? But really, I’m obsessed.  Don’t wait too long to try this one!

P.S. You can make right away, the night before, or days ahead. You can also cut into squares and freeze for later!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal with Cream Cheese Topping

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil or grass-fed butter
• ½ cup applesauce (you can substitute carrot puree for extra carrot flavor)
• 2 medium carrots, grated (you can add more if you like)
• 1¼ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy
• 3 cups oats, gluten-free if necessary
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• For the cream cheese topping: 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• ¼ cup milk, room temperature (you may need a little more if you want the sauce thinner)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup
• extras for serving- walnuts, raisins, shredded coconut or coconut chips, maple syrup

Instructions

1. Coat an 8×8 or 2 quart baking dish with butter or coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter/coconut oil, applesauce and milk. Fold the oats, carrots nuts, raisins and coconut and combine well. Transfer the oat mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly around.
3. To bake right away: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Let oat mixture sit and soak for 20-30 minutes at room temperature while the oven is preheating. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until oatmeal is set and edges are brown.
4. To bake later in the day or the next morning: Cover your dish tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly on top of the oat mixture. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap oatmeal and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until oatmeal is set and edges are brown.
5. To make the cream cheese topping, combine the cream cheese, milk, honey and vanilla in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
6. Serve hot with: cream cheese topping, maple syrup, raisins, walnuts and coconut.

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So I am officially done with GAPS Intro! I have been for about a week or so, but I haven’t gotten time to sit down and gather my thoughts about the whole thing. I have actually sat down to write this post a bunch of times and just can’t get into it. I think it’s because I had a tiny breakdown about GAPS, and then I relaxed a little about Stages 5 & 6. Let me explain.

I wrote a little about my episode here, but basically what happened was that I had my first reaction to a newly introduced food and I got discouraged. I thought I would have to be stuck at Stage 4 forever if I couldn’t eat every single food on the list. Then I realized that I am the one in charge of this plan, and that I could make the executive decision to move onto the next stage and try that food again later when I felt ready. That really took the pressure off and allowed me to start trying more new foods and eat more like a normal person (not that people on GAPS Intro aren’t normal.. well, maybe we aren’t, but you get what I mean).

Let me be clear, though- I didn’t cheat or go off the diet, I just moved on and skipped some of the raw vegetables, which I plan on reintroducing eventually.

What did I eat on Stage 5 & 6?

With Stage 5 came raw veggies, applesauce, honey and fruit for juicing. Stage 6 adds whole fruits.

• Scrambled Eggs in Ghee with Avocado and Sauerkraut (my typical breakfast.)
• Eggs with Ham and Asparagus
• Sausage Patties
• Pulled Pork with GAPS Barbecue Sauce (I skipped ahead again and added spices to the barbecue sauce.)
• Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Squash and Almond Flour Bread (Yellow Squash and Zucchini)
• New Cooked Vegetables- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, green peppers
• Raw Cucumber, Carrot, Celery
• Homemade applesauce (pictured above, small batch recipe here)
• Fresh Juice in lots of different combinations
• Crispy Nuts
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut and Olive Oil
• Other things I can’t remember because I stopped writing my meals down in such detail!

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

I had some trouble with introducing raw cucumber and butter lettuce at the beginning of Stage 5 (that was the problem food from my episode). Then I remembered that raw vegetables have often been a problem food for me, and like I said- I stopped freaking out about it. I have seen a few symptoms come back here or there, but nothing like the pain I used to experience. Plus, my supplements are really helping to reduce pain.

Any practical advice from Stage 5 & 6?

Don’t go crazy with the whole fruits and honey and baked goods- it can send you into a downward spiral really fast! Take advantage of juicing as a way to get in some tasty fruits (with your veggies, too, of course). Also, watch it with the nuts. It can be tempting to eat them for every snack and with every meal in your baked goods/bread; but they shouldn’t be the main part of your diet- that should still be meat and vegetables.

Also- keep up the broth and soup, don’t quit!!

Any encouragement for people in Stage 5 & 6?

Let the bumps in the road be okay. Let the little mistakes be okay. I’m not giving you carte blanche to start cheating (GAPS is not a diet you want to cheat on, since you would have to start from the beginning again to get your desired results), but do give yourself some grace. This is a hard journey and you’ve almost made it to the full diet. Keep up the good work and take your healing seriously- you are worth it.

I might need a Paleo baking intervention. I’ve gotten the hang of it now and the treats are flowing freely again in this house.. but my tummy troubles have not disappeared. (They are still undiagnosed.. go here for more of my story.) Now my wheels are turning again, trying to figure out why.

I thought that changing things around, doing things the Paleo/gluten-free/lots-of-other-stuff-free way that things might work themselves out. And now, I’m thinking maybe I need to go further.. more drastic.. start from scratch and heal (aka GAPS or something similar). I’m trying to figure out what more I can do.

But I’m realizing now that I can’t do it.

I can’t heal myself. I can’t do this in my own power. I believe in a God who heals. The God who came to earth and died for me, who goes before me and stands beside me. The God who changed my heart- I certainly didn’t change it myself. So why am I believing that I can change myself now?

“Agree with God and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove justice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust … then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift your face up to God. You will make your prayer to him and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter and it will be established for you and light will shine on your ways.” Job 22:21-28

It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day issues of life and believe that if we just tried harder, if we just planned better, if we were just better people that things would go our way. But the truth is that God is the perfect planner and his perfect plan for us has been in motion since before there was time. He is good and his plan is good, even if we can’t see it (or if we have a different definition of the word ‘good’). His word says that if we agree with him, good will come to us- but it doesn’t say when. Maybe it won’t be until Heaven, but it will come; so long as we believe in him and his promises.

So maybe I will try another approach to healing, maybe I won’t. I don’t know now. But I know I will be spending time with the Lord, talking and listening. Trusting in the one who knows suffering better than any man. And rejoicing because I know the end of the story (spoiler alert: it’s a happy one. :))

Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

original recipe here at Delighted Momma- http://www.delightedmomma.com/2013/01/flourless-apple-cinnamon-muffins.html

Author: via Delighted Momma

Recipe type: Baked Goods

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups of almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup of maple syrup
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend the eggs together in a separate small bowl.
3. Mix together all the above ingredients and slowly stir in the blended eggs.
4. Pour the batter evenly into 12 muffin baking cups.
5. Cook 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

3.1.09

You guys, I bought a donut pan!

I found it at T.J. Maxx for like five bucks, so it basically jumped in my cart and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Now we can have donuts together every day!

I want to know who came up with the maple bacon combo first. I would like to shake that person’s hand. And then give them a hug that lasts too long and gets awkward. Because I love bacon and maple syrup together- it’s the work of a genius.

Maple bacon. Get on the bandwagon, friends!

As most of my treats have been lately, these are grain-free, gluten-free and paleo (as long as you use the appropriate sweeteners). These types of treats are probably supposed to be occasional.. but I ate two of them in one day. Just keepin’ it real for you. They’re good!

Are you guys enjoying the new recipes lately or did you prefer the old ones? I want to keep bringing you recipes that you would actually like to make some time. Can I get a little feedback? Be honest if you don’t like all the paleo stuff, but be kind.

These pictures keep making me lose my train of thought.. gah, these donuts were good! I love bacon and maple syrup and butter. The end.

5.0 from 4 reviews

Maple Bacon Donuts (Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo)

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Breakfast, Baked Goods, Dessert

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup unrefined sugar (I used date sugar, you could try coconut sugar or maple sugar as well.)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon maple extract
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• ½ cup coconut milk or cow’s milk
• 6 tablespoons grass-fed butter (such as Kerrygold) at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon maple extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you like)
• 3-4 pieces of bacon, cooked

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a donut pan with butter or cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the coconut flour, baking soda and unrefined sugar. Make sure there are no lumps (break the lumps up with your fingers if you need to).
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, maple extract, applesauce and milk. Add to the coconut flour mixture and mix until thick and smooth.
4. Spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter into the donut pan (You can spoon it in, but it will be messy- the piping bag makes it really easy to fill the pan). Bake the donuts for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
5. While the donuts are cooling, make the maple buttercream. In a stand mixer, combine the butter, maple syrup, maple extract and cinnamon until well combined. When the donuts are completely cool, spread on the buttercream and top with bacon. Keep in an airtight container- the donuts are best eaten within a day or two.

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