Honey Orange Blueberry Baked Oats

My time is precious. I have two kids, I run my business, I try to have somewhat of a social life (lol), and I try to have some me time (maybe if I say it out loud it will become true?). But I never regret spending any of my precious time to do a consistent bit of meal prep, and I certainly never regret making a batch of these baked oats. I'm not spending my Sunday afternoon making all my weekly meals, but I am doing little tasks throughout the week and I commit to ONE meal prep style recipe per week. It's often baked oats because I can do it with my eyes closed and just use whatever I have on hand. They're also in one bowl, require very limited skill and double as breakfast or snack.

When considering meal prep, find a way that works for you and no matter how little or how much you do, you'll get yourself just that much more ahead during the week.

This batch uses honey instead of my usual maple syrup to sweeten and lots of fresh orange zest to brighten them up. The blueberries give pops of sweetness throughout and the zucchini keeps them moist and helps me get veggies into my kids. I also add hemp and walnuts for protein and healthy fats.

I love to serve these honey orange blueberry baked oats with yogurt and fresh oranges but realistically I'm most often just grabbing them and running.

Ingredients

2 cups whole rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

zest of 1 large orange

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon, some ginger and/or cardamom would also be nice here (maybe 1/4 tsp)

3-4 Tbsp honey

1 cup mashed banana

2 eggs

1 cup grated zucchini, give this a good squeeze over the sink first

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking dish with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients well in a bowl, adding the berries last (note frozen berries might stain the whole batter blue so stir carefully). Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake for 45-55 minutes. Let cool fully before slicing.

These freeze well, wrap individually in plastic wrap once fully cooled.