Vegan Challenge - Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole

You might say I am venturing into

unfamiliar territory. You could say I am getting out of my comfort zone. It

would be reasonable to say I am eating outside the box.

I am going Vegan.

Okay, okay, stop laughing. Allow me to

clarify. I am taking on a vegan challenge with a group of friends at work for

one week. This is a part of a program that our Wellness Committee at work is

promoting over the summer. The challenge is coming up next week, but I am

trying to test drive a recipe or two in advance so that I know if I can stomach

it or not before I invest in all the expensive vegan ingredients.

Today’s experiment? Sweet Potato

Breakfast Casserole.

Inherently, this recipe poses a couple

of issues for me. One being that I am not a big fan of sweet potatoes. Two

being….ditto for bananas.Three? Well, carbs and starches tend to be my DOWNFALL

in the weight loss routine, not my salvation, but hey. Its only a week, right?

Also, this recipe seems to harken to more autumnal days instead of the 100

degree heat wave we’ve been enduring here, but I digress.

The pluses? I need SUBSTANCE for breakfast.

If I can’t have meat, then I need something that’s going to stick to my ribs. Oatmeal

seems to be a reasonable solution. After some investigation on the good ol’

internet, I turned up this little gem of a recipe at Oh She Glows and decided

to give it a whirl. I have included my notes in the recipe below, but head on over to the site for the original recipe.

If you saw my Facebook post last night,

you know that I definitely had my reservations as I was putting this together. Let’s

just say that the unbaked mixture is…..visually unappealing. It is a very easy

recipe to throw together and the ingredients are mostly basic. I didn’t have

chia seeds, and they are not an ingredient that is even remotely available in

my area. Heading back to the web, I found that flax seeds are a good substitute

and I happen to have a jar of flax seed meal in the pantry, so I subbed that

out for the chia seeds. Other than that, no problem at all!

All of that being said, fresh out of the

oven, this is a pretty tasty little dish! I doubled the original recipe to make

a 9x13 pan so I would have plenty to share at work today, and I am pleased to

say it has met with rave reviews! It is definitely something I would be more

inclined to eat in the winter, with its cinnamon, nutmeg, oats and sweet

potatoes, but it definitely has the “stick-to-your-rib-ability” I was looking

for, and it makes a large enough quantity that I can eat breakfast from the pan

all week long!

So, for my first dish in the lineup, not

bad at all! Next up – Veggie Burgers! Stay tuned!

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole

1/2

about 5 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and set aside.

2.

Give the pot a quick rinse and then add in the oats, milk, and chia seeds.

Whisk well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for about

5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

3.

With a potato masher, mash in the cooked sweet potato and the banana into the

pot. I left some chunks for texture. Now stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup,

nutmeg, vanilla

and salt to taste.

Adjust seasonings if necessary. Cook on low for another few minutes.

4.

Make the crunchy pecan topping by mixing together the pecans, flour, Earth

Balance (or butter), and brown sugar with a fork. until very clumpy. Pour the

oatmeal into a baker dish (I used a 4 cup/8 inch casserole dish) and spread out

evenly. Now sprinkle on the pecan topping.

5.

Transfer the oats to an

8x8

casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, at 350F. After 20 minutes,

set oven to BROIL and broil on low for a couple minutes, watching very closely

so you do not burn the topping. Remove from oven and serve. Makes 3-4 servings.

Nutritional Info (based on 4 servings

with soy milk, without topping): 217kcal, 4 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 6 grams

fibre.