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I feel like the post I wrote after my first day alone with the kiddos was an outlier… that was such an easy day. Turns out two kids are much harder than I made it seem! 100% worth it of course. :). I think over the past week and a half Hunter’s brain made a switch and he realized that Jacob was back to work and mommy was paying more attention to someone else. He definitely wants mommy a lot more now. Thankfully he’s still loving his sissy, he just wants more mommy time too.
Mornings are my biggest challenge. Zoe is normally nursing around the time Hunter wakes, so cooking him breakfast one handed became quite tough. Over the weekend I decided to make my mornings (and dinners) much easier by having breakfast made and waiting in the fridge.
Oatmeal is a favorite, so I decided to give baked oatmeal a go. Turns out Hunter LOVES baked oatmeal! He devoured 2 whole bowls Sunday morning. I love how it’s made ahead (serve it cold or reheated) + so much less messy than oatmeal.
The recipe is below, but first, here’s everything else I prepped.
- chopped veggies (sweet potato sticks, broccoli, carrots, onions, mushrooms) to use in dinners throughout the week
- steamed veggies for Hunter (sweet potato, broccoli, carrot)
- boiled + peeled hard boiled eggs
- made + cooked beef/pork breakfast patties (for breakfasts + to use in a dinner)
- cooked Italian sausage (to use in a dinner)
I started with a list and did all but make bread + yogurt for the week. Luckily I’ve already fit those two in these past couple days. Pretty successful way to simplify my week! I especially love having all of the veggies chopped. It has saved so much time when I go to cook dinner.
Blueberry Chia Seed Baked Oatmeal
Adapted from here
Ingredients
- 2 + 2/3 cups rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (I omitted, but would probably add if I was going to serve it to anyone other than Hunter or myself)
- 1 + 1/3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 cup chia seeds
- 1-1/3 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
- 1 ripe banana, peeled, diced small
- 2 + 2/3 cups milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil (or butter or vegetable oil)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and generously coat the inside of a 13 by 9-1/2 inch baking dish with oil.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, chia seeds, blueberries and banana.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract.
- Mix the wet into the dry, then pour into the pan.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. For an extra tasty top, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of extra brown sugar.
Do you have any tricks for simplifying your breakfasts? Favorite make-ahead breakfast food?
Heather
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. I eat this every morning with a side of Greek yogurt for breakfast. Only thing I changed is I doubled the amount of cinnamon and added walnuts on the top. Keeps me full for hours and I know I’m taking in great things for my workouts later in the day. This is a keeper!
Aw! We are adding #2 in September so it’ll still be a bit, but I totally worry about this with #1. I work essentially full time and recently had to change day care providers which on one hand the care is awesome but the kiddo has been even more clingy before and after work and I just feel bad that it will get worse when there is another kiddo hanging around. We eat sausage and eggs in the morning and have some pretty bad habits in the prep work and I couldn’t imagine trying to nurse and cook and then feed another mouth! But it will be okay.
So exciting, congrats! How old is your first again? There will be an adjustment period, but it’ll pass š
Good call with baked oatmeal! Leftovers of baked oatmeal are the BEST. I also love steel cut oats in the crockpot. They’re a great make-ahead breakfast. Also good are muffins, pancakes, and French toast that you freeze. I have definitely learned to have things ready ahead of time for smoother mornings!
I so need to use the crockpot for oats too! Great idea. Anything to make mornings easier š
Looks tasty!! My girls love eggs so I try to pre make a pan of mini crust less quiche or baked eggs on weekends. I had veggies or turkey sausage and cheese and bake in muffin tins!
Mini crust less quiches are a great idea! Stealing that for next weekend’s food prep š
Mmmm, pinning this and hopefully MAKING it soon! I like baked oatmeal too, we eat regular oatmeal quite often, but sometimes I choose other breakfasts because it’s just not worth the mess!
It is so messy with littles!
I always amazed by Moms with multiple itty bitties! This looks SO good! I still haven’t really tried chias out- I need to get on it. I do a lot of make ahead bars or muffins for breakfasts or overnight oatmeal
I love chia’s gelling factor. I use it in oatmeal a ton and Hunter loves having them sprinkled on too.