Raspberry Cheesecake Oatmeal

During the cold winter months my family and I all enjoy a nice warm bowl of oatmeal and we all have our different ways of making it. Not only is it a great way to start the day, but it is also good for you.

When I came across this recipe for oatmeal that combined two of my favorite ingredients I knew I had to make it. Raspberry and cream cheese in oatmeal, yes please! My whole family loved this oatmeal, even my husband who is not a huge fan of sweets.

Although my oatmeal did come out looking as pretty as the picture that came with the recipe, it was still very very good. It was deliciously sweet and creamy. Now this is not an oatmeal I would want to eat all the time (due to the higher calorie count), but as a special breakfast this was perfect.

When I was adding the cream cheese to the top of the oatmeal I was worried that the amount was going to be too much and that the cream cheese was going to overpower everything else. However, once it was served into individual bowls and mixed in it was the perfect amount.

Raspberry Cheesecake Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups skim milk
• 2 medium bananas, mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons raspberry preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl ,combine the oats, milk, banana, vanilla and pour into prepared baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar.
4. Transfer to a piping bag with desired tip attached (or you can use a plastic bag and cut off an end) and pipe 4 horizontal lines on top of the oatmeal using all of the cream cheese.
5. Now put the raspberry preserves into the pipping bag (or plastic bag) and squeeze 4 horizontal lines next to the cream cheese lines.
6. Drag a knife up and down through the cream cheese and raspberry preserves and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Serves: 4
Calories: 348.5
Total Fat: 9g
   Saturated: 4g
   Polyunsaturated: 0g
   Monounsaturated: 0g
   Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 22.5mg
Sodium: 173mg
Potassium: 265mg
Total Carbs: 56.2g
   Dietary Fiber: 5.8g
   Sugars: 24.4g
Protein: 11.2g
Vitamin A: 13%
Vitamin C: 1%
Calcium: 19.8%
Iron: 10%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Fitness Magazine.