Crumble Topping

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 2 cups oatmeal, old-fashioned style
• 4 tbsp. oat bran
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 tbsp. coconut oil
• parchment paper

Makes 2 1/4 cups, 20 Servings (2 tbsp. per serving)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Place brown sugar and almonds in a spice grinder or food processor. Grind to a fine powder. Combine almond mixture, oatmeal, oat bran, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in coconut oil until well distributed. Leave clumps.
3. At this point you can either bake the mixture and use it as topping or leave uncooked and bake on a crumble or fruit. If you bake it now, place mixture in a parchment-lines sheet pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes, stirring periodically for evening browning. Cool.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the New Sonoma Cookbook. This homemade topping is so yummy it's better than store bought. This crisp bite is so good on any fruit combination from fall & winter fruits such as apples and pears to your favorite summer berries. Grinding the almonds with sugar prevents them from becoming almond butter. This recipe has many variations: replace oat bran with wheat bran, replace coconut oil with canola oil or make it gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats and oat bran. You can use this topping in your yogurt, on your favorite fruit pies, or even in baked fruit muffins.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Berry Compote

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal, slightly warm (gluten-free)
• 1/2 cup milk (or soy milk for dairy-free pancakes)
• 1 tbsp. agave syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• nonstick spray, as needed
• Berry Compote (see recipe)

Makes 4 Servings (2 pancakes per serving)

1. Preheat the pancake griddle or skillet on medium heat.
2. Combine oat flour, rice flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Combine oatmeal, milk, agave syrup, and vanilla. Stir in beaten eggs. Stir in dry ingredients.
4. Spray the griddle or pan with nonstick spray. Pour 1/4 cup batter on griddle or pan in a 4-inch circle. Let sit until bubbles start to appear on top and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip pancakes can cook 1 minute on other side. Serve hot topped with Berry Compote.

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 Pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the New Sonoma Cookbook. Who doesn't love a gourmet breakfast at any meal? These are quick, easy and gluten-free and you can make these into both pancakes and waffles. I prefer waffles because they make a better presentation and the clean up is much easier. Oatmeal pancakes or waffles are moist an dense due to the creamy texture of the cooked oatmeal in the center. Make sure the eggs are well mixed because they will scramble when cooking. It's also important that the dry ingredients are mixed separately from the wet ingredients so that the pancakes/waffles come out fluffy. I really loved these waffles because they were fluffy, moist and packed with flavor. Plus, they didn't have any sugar in them and I didn't miss the traditional syrup as a topping. It is well known that eating whole grains in the morning satisfy hunger and provide key nutrients to keep blood sugars in check. The berry compote is also yummy too.



Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 (6-oz.) can no-salt added tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. ground turkey breast
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini

Makes 8 Servings

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the tomato paste, wine, water, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. Combine  turkey, oatmeal, egg, zucchini and 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture in a large bowl. Mix well. Shape into a loaf and place into an ungreased 8-x 4-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Discard any drippings. Pour 1/2 cup of the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the loaf. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Place on a serving platter. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve the remaining tomato sauce on the side.

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet book. It's cold outside and it's a great excuse to fire up the oven and cook comfort food. I never like meatloaf as a kid but now that I'm quite the home cook, meatloaf isn't so bad. This meatloaf uses ground turkey, shredded zucchini and oatmeal and it's delicious. If you don't have any dried oatmeal, use cooked brown rice or dried bread crumbs and your meatloaf will still be delicious. I also highly recommend adding  garlic to the turkey breast because garlic always makes everything better. The wine and tomato-herbed sauce is delicious in and on top of the meatloaf. If you have individual loaf pans, I highly recommend putting the meatloaf in them because they make perfect portion servings and you can easily wrap them up and freeze them.