Can you honestly say you wouldn’t rather go back to sleep for an hour or two than get up on a weekday morning?

Because I can’t.

Some mornings, I’m so reluctant to get out of bed that I actually have to bribe myself. Especially those rainy spring mornings, when it’s still foggy out and all you want to do is curl back up and drift off… And then my second alarm goes of and I realize that if I don’t get up in the next five minutes, I’m setting myself up to be late for virtually everything I have in the next three hours.

That’s when the bribing comes in. Usually, it pertains to breakfast food. If I’m feeling pretty energetic, I’ll usually just stick to a bowl of oatmeal. But if I really need something to get me going, I’ll promise myself twenty extra minutes of downtime. This, of course, is only possible for two reasons: either I don’t eat breakfast (not gonna happen) or I make a hot bowl (or ramekin) of this Banana Bread baked oatmeal.

Now, generally I don’t consider myself too lazy of a person. But before 10 am, lemme tell you, I have about the same amount of energy as a 10 watt lightbulb. So I’m usually almost never willing to put very much effort into my breakfast (10 minutes to prep it, max). Therefore, this recipe has become a lifesaver, especially on those rainy mornings!

Think of it this way: Banana Bread for breakfast. Banana bread that’s healthy, completely clean, and packed with protein. And takes less than 5 minutes to make. You can even make it the night before and reheat it!

So, no I’d rather not go back to sleep if it means I can enjoy toasty Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ooey-gooey almond butter swirl!!

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal with Almond Butter Swirl

• 1/3 c old fashioned oats
• 1/2 tbs spelt flour
• 1/2 banana
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 egg white (or 1 1/2 tbs egg whites)
• stevia to taste
• 1/2 tbs almond butter

Preheat oven to 325 °F and grease a small ramekin or baking dish. In a small bowl, mash banana and stir in oats. Add flour, cinnamon, flax seeds, baking powder, vanilla, and egg white and stir unti combined. Fold in walnut pieces, if desired. Spoon into ramekin or baking dish. Warm almond butter until thin and drizzle onto oat mixture. Taking a knife, cut into oats until the almond butter’s fully incorporated. Bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and fully cooked. If eating right away, simply remove from the oven, top, and enjoy! If making the night before, cover with a lid or cling wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, broil for 3-5 minutes, or until warm. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 239

Fat: 7g

Carbs: 36g

Protein: 11g

(Yields 1 serving)

Nutritional information calculated includes almond butter swirl. If not making with almond butter, the nutritional information is as follows: 191 calories, 3 grams of fat, 34 carbs, and 9 grams of protein.