(Vegan, Bread Machine) Oatmeal Maple Pecan Bread & Apple Nut-Butter Sandwich

This recipe is straight from my West Bend Bread Machine Instructional Manual.  I adapted it to make it dairy-free.  I was in the mood for a sweet bread and thought I'd give it a shot. The only ingredient I left out was 2 tbsp's of dry milk.  I confess....I'm famous for leaving out ingredients and hoping for the best when I don't have them on hand or in this case, wouldn't use them and don't know how to substitute for it! :-)  I did a quick Google search and determined that leaving it out should not detrimentally effect the outcome, and it didn't!   (The only use I could find for adding the dry milk was to make the crust crispier, but it turned out plenty crisp without it).

Oatmeal Maple Pecan Bread

(Yields 1.5lb loaf)

Ingredients

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp warm water

1/3 cup Organic, Grade B maple syrup

2 tbsp coconut oil (use in its solid form to replace butter)

2 1/2 cups bread flour

3/4 cup quick oats

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Place ingredients in bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer.   Set to "sweet" cycle and light crust.   

This bread turned out hearty, very moist and really, really good!

I wasn't sure what to have for lunch so I threw together this quick and nutritious sandwich using some slices of this bread.   It's easy and shouldn't even be called a "recipe", but I'll include it anyway as a suggestion!  

Apple Nut-Butter Sandwich

Ingredients

1 apple, sliced thin

1-2tbsp almond butter, or nut butter of choice

2 slices bread

Directions:

Spread nut butter over bread.  Thinly slice 1/2 an apple and place slices on top of nut butter.  Enjoy as a sandwich with the other half of your apple on the side!

The apple and nut butter was the perfect combination of flavors to combine with the Oatmeal Maple Pecan bread!  (You can make this sandwich with any bread you like though.) 

Apple Streusel Oatmeal

Every morning I start the day with a fresh pressed glass of juice from my juicer.  It typically involves some mixture of apples, carrots, kale, spinach and oranges.  That gives me quite a bit of energy to get through my morning workout, and then I make my breakfast.  I almost always eat oatmeal for breakfast hooked up with bananas, raisins, walnuts and ground flax-seed toppings.  I keep it pretty simple and I love it.  Other days, if the mood strikes, I just have a slice of homemade toast with some all-natural peanut butter.  I don't experiment a whole lot when it comes to breakfast since I pretty much never get tired of my usual.  I'd like to branch out a bit more when it comes to the most important meal of the day though, just to see what else might tickle my fancy!

I was craving something sweet this morning (shocker!), so I decided to experiment with my oatmeal.  (I didn't want to get too crazy yet and try something completely new, ha!). I'm glad I did because it turned out to be a nice change from my usual oatmeal and it really hit the sweet spot.

Apple Streusel Oatmeal

(serves 2)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water (or other liquid of your choice)

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 apple, chopped into small chunks

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 dates (with pits removed), soaked and blended in 1/4 cup water

Optional toppings

Handful of walnuts, chopped (or other nuts of choice)

1 tbsp ground flax seed

Directions:

Soak dates in water for 10 minutes.  Drain and blend in food processor/blender with 1/4 cup water until a paste forms.  Set aside.

Bring water (or liquid of choice) to a boil and add oats and chopped apples. Return to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until most of the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat, add cinnamon and date paste. Mix until well combined.  

This really is quite the healthy breakfast packed with lots of extra nutrients from the added apple and dates. I didn't eat any of the optional toppings today, but I suspect that adding some nuts, especially walnuts, would make this even more yummy.   I plan to try that out next time.  Also, ground flax seed is very good for you, so it's never a bad idea to try and sneak some tablespoons into whatever you're eating.   It's pretty high in protein, Omega-3 Fats and Fiber.  I add it to my usual oatmeal and it doesn't change the taste at all.  

I'm off to start my day now!  Enjoy yours!  :)