Cholesterol is an issue in my household being that my husband Jeff’s cholesterol is too high. Although he has worked very hard to help reduce it, it’s still up there. Jeff is a great sport about trying new foods and always loves when I experiment but the one thing he is totally weird about is texture. He cannot stand certain mushy fruits like bananas and berries and unfortunately for his cholesterol levels, oatmeal falls into this group of things he cannot bare to eat. Baked Oatmeal is a great solution to this problem. It is packed with cholesterol lowering oats but baking it gets rid of the mush factor. Another benefit is your loved ones don’t have to deal with making it. Just bake up a batch, cut it into slices and keep it around the house for on-the-go breakfasts or snacks.

Baked Oatmeal
I like to enjoy a slice of Baked Oatmeal plain with a cold glass of skim milk for breakfast, as a snack or to satisfy my sweet tooth. You can also serve it topped with low fat yogurt, fruit or even a little sugar free maple syrup.

• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1½ cups skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• ½ cup no sugar added apple sauce
• Cooking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, baking powder, cinnamon, dark brown sugar and chopped pecans in a large bowl and mix to blend. Beat egg and egg white in a medium bowl and then add milk, vanilla, vegetable oil and apple sauce. Add milk mixture to oat mixture and stir well. Spray a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Pour oat mixture into pie pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 8 servings. 3 points per serving.

Notes
The possibilities are endless with diversifying this recipe. You can add mashed bananas and chopped walnuts for a Banana Nut Oatmeal or chopped apples, raisins and extra cinnamon for Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal. Feel free to use Splenda instead of dark brown sugar or just eliminate sugar all together and increase the amount of apple sauce. You could also use an egg substitute or all egg whites instead of real eggs. Another thing to experiment with is dried fruit, throw in some dried cranberries, low fat granola and sliced almonds for a Trail Mix Oatmeal. Create your own version using your favorite fruits, nuts and snacks.