Easy as oats! {breakfast oat recipes}

Hey friends!
Who else has boys/people in your house who are ALWAYS hungry! Ugh! You are not alone! Seems they are never satisfied! So this mama was tired of buying junked laced granola bars at the store and seeming to never have anything on hand for hunger pains.
So I decided to try out some recipes I came across on Pinterest and instagram. Why not?! I have to say it was pretty easy and really fun!
One is a loaded granola bar, one was a chewy granola bar and one was a breakfast oatmeal bake. While I had the oven on I wanted to get as many things done as possible!

After doing a simple search for easy granola on Pinterest I narrowed it down to two different recipes for granola bars.

*The first recipe is from Gluten Free On a Shoestring back in 2016. You can find her blog and recipe HERE.
I liked the one because she gives you lots of variation ideas that fit your taste and I had all the items on hand. I prefer ALL the things in yummies like ice cream, cereal and granola bars are no exception! Give me all the goodness!

This recipe was easy to assemble and make. I followed the directions and the result were great! When they were finished cooling COMPLETELY I cut them into squares and popped them into the freezer in airtight containers.

I separated the layers with the used parchment paper so they wouldn't stick.

These have been great on busy mornings, or to take to the park or work.

I also like to break up a bar and pour milk over it and eat like cereal-YUM!

My variations choices were-

Mini chacolate chips
Pepitas
Sliced almonds
Coconut oil
Honey
but any of the choices she offered would be great!

I think the egg in this recipe was crucial as a bonding agent and I think that's why it held up really well after baking.

*The second recipe I tried was a copycat recipe from the Betty Crocker website. You can find it HERE.
This one is an oats and honey recipe I thought my husband would like. I call him Mr. Vanilla because he likes things plain and simple! He also likes a chewy granola bar over a crisp one so I was a little concerned about this one being too crisp but I was willing to give it a try.

I followed this recipe and it was super simple to make and again all the ingredients were on hand!
The only thing I changed was baking time. I worried they would come out too crisp so I baked them for 15min instead of 20.

 I also don't know if I didn't press down hard enough when placing them in the pan, but unfortunately they didn't hold their shape after cooling. I also felt like the honey sank to the bottom and therefore didn't bond all the oats together.

The taste was good! Just like the oats and honey ones at the store so that was great! Maybe next time I'll add an egg to see if that helps in bonding the oats? No loss though. I just broke up the "bars" put them on a cookie sheet, placed them back in the oven and let them crisp up a bit. After cooling I placed in a mason jar in the cabinet next the cereal.

Now we can have it with milk or over ice cream. :)

*After the granola recipes I wanted to try something more like a breakfast bake. I follow Aimee from Eating Healthy Spending Less on social media and she has an Oatmeal bake I was wanting to try!

Her recipes are simple and very budget friendly. You can find the recipe on her blog HERE.

This Oatmeal bake is beyond simple! 3-5 ingredients keeps things simple and this recipe is SUGAR free, but yet really yummy. So if you're looking for something to grab on the way out the door or with your family around the table this recipe is for you.

After baking and cooling I cut these into bars, put in a container and place in the fridge for the week.

 I used blueberries that were about to go bad as the fruit and they were so good! I also added cinnamon to the eggs before pouring because I just like cinnamon in everything! LOL! I like that you can leave this recipe plain or add whatever fruit you have on hand or in the freezer! I serve this heated and drizzled with honey.

 YUM! I was also thinking these would be great to take camping or on a road trip. They are relatively no mess (without the honey ;) ) and they can be made ahead of time. Win, win!

Over all my oat recipe experiments were pretty good! I had everything I needed on hand so I didn't have to spend extra money on special items.

And oats are a great healthy grain in moderation that are really affordable and can fill up a crowd.

Yes please! This mama likes to KISS- keep it simple sweetie- and these recipes keep things that way.

I also wanted to say don't get discouraged if you try something new and and it doesn't turn out like the picture or in your mind. Trying new things should be fun, so don't give up or beat yourself up too hard! Try again!

I hope you like these recipes and it encourages you to try something new, or just get back to basics to keep your family healthy, full and on budget!
*TIPS: 
-Parchment paper is your best friend when it comes to these kinds of recipes! 
-BPA free freezer safe containers are worth the investment. There are several available at different price points. I like THESE and THESE (they stack really well)
-Make multiple recipes at once so you don't waste your energy or your ovens! 

Happy making!
xo
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If you'd like to follow along my food inspiration, check out my food board on Pinterest. Some things I make, some things I fail and some things I just like to drool over :) Check it out HERE