Cherry Almond Baked Oats

Ingredients

• 4 cups ultra-filtered low-fat milk

• 1⁄4 cup almond butter

• 1⁄4 cup almonds, chopped or slivered

• 2 cups frozen cherries

• 1 cup steel-cut oats

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1⁄4 tsp coarse/kosher salt

• 1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 cups non-fat plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt

  Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

1. Choose a baking dish or loaf pan that can hold at least 2 quarts of liquid. A 9 ̋ x 5 ̋ loaf pan works very well.

2. Whisk the almond butter with half the milk in the baking pan/dish until mostly incorporated. Stir in the rest of the milk and the remain- ing ingredients.

3. Cover with foil and bake for 75–90 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

4. Serve warm with 1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt to make a balanced breakfast. The extras can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and easily reheated in the microwave. Add a little water to thin out oats as needed before microwaving.

*Non-dairy milk can be substituted for ultra-filtered cow’s milk, but protein content will decrease unless a high-protein non-dairy milk is chosen. Choose certified gluten-free oats to be sure this recipe is free of gluten. The final flavors will be different, but peanut butter could be swapped in for almond butter, other nuts can be used in place of the almonds, and other frozen berries or fruit could be used instead of cherries.