Pumpkin crazy

Baked oatmeal!!

So, I have been meaning to share my pumpkin baking adventures in several posts, but times has gotten away from me. I think pumpkin things are seasonal even through Christmas or you guys can at least get ideas for next Thanksgiving!!

Pumpkin baked oatmeal

I took a recipe I found via Pinterest and tried to make it lighter. I think I succeeded! The recipe was for Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal... yum! I eat lots of oatmeal for breakfast and I was looking for a way to try something new and pumpkiny.

I changed the recipe in a few ways:
• Used unsweetened applesauce
• Egg whites
• Light soy milk
• Reduced sugar craisins
• Cut it up into six servings

My only complaint is that it wasn't pumpkiny enough. It tasted just fine - and I ate it all week - but a tad on the bland side. The second day I ate it for breakfast I sprinkled some extra cinnamon and nutmeg on my serving that helped. I made the whole thing on a Sunday evening and just reheated a piece each morning to have a nice warm breakfast.
Click the link in the title for the recipe I used!

Pumpkin oat bars!

•••

Pumpkin oat bars

Recently, I also made some pumpkin, oat bars from Greenlitebites.com.

Next time I will grind up the pumpkin seeds... they were two big and chewy. I may have gotten the wrong kind of seeds. The blogger used pumpkin seeds that were called pepitas and look smaller than what I got. Also, make sure to freeze what you may not eat in a week. Mine started to get a little moldy after a week. That is the price you pay when you are making things from scratch!

•••

Pumpkin bread (Also from Greenlitebites.com)

Very simple and very tasty! Three ingredients: Spice cake mix, can of pumpkin and two egg whites. (Note: I buy the carton of liquid egg whites for baking and cooking.) The batter was quite sticky so be prepared for that. I baked it in a bundt pan instead of loaves and used the cake box instructions as a guideline for time. Be sure to check often you do that...mine was done early!

Not exactly health food, but it was tasty and hit the pumpkin spot. I think once a year I can handle that!!

•••

No-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Skinnytaste.com)

This turned out great! I had some pumpkin leftover from my other adventures and didn't want to let it go to waste. I had plans to make this for Thanksgiving, but that was three weeks away. So, I took a chance, made it and stuck in the freezer until I needed it. I think the crust was a little soggy due to the defrosting process, which is my only minor complaint. The taste was great though and the filling was very light... not sure if the texture would've been any different without freezing involved.

Happy baking!!

Beth :)