Blackberries and Coconut Oatmeal Bake

 Heaven on a spoon! This is a big 10!

January is National Oatmeal Month so I will be spotlighting a few different oatmeal dishes.  I used to think oatmeal was like warm goop that tasted like nothing.  As a kid, all we ever did to dress up oatmeal dump imitation maple syrup and raisins on it.  My quality of life has greatly improved since I explored a little.

Blackberries and Coconut Oatmeal Bake  Rating: 10

I've never been a big morning person but since I started exercising it's not so hard anymore.  I prepare the dried ingredients the night before and set out what I can for the rest of the recipe, i.e., baking pan, measuring utensils, and other non-perishable ingredients.  I got up this morning, turned on the oven, finished preparing the dish, and slipped it in to bake while I did my workout.  On my treadmill I could smell the sweet aroma of the cinnamon and coconut and increased the incline because I knew anything that enticing would be detrimental to my daily calorie allowance.

The substitutions I made were using full fat coconut milk (but I put it in the fridge overnight and skimmed off most the cream for a recipe I'll use later in the week, before pouring the remainder in this bake) and demerara sugar.  I greased the pan with coconut oil, used a combo of coconut oil and butter for the amount of butter that was called for, and I did sprinkle it with coconut and a bit more sugar as suggested. 

Although the family ate it up, we still have a few portions left to warm up for another breakfast or dessert.  Heaven!