Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day – and I am firm believer in that, I can’t go without my breakfast!

If you haven’t heard it enough, here are ten more reasons to “break your fast” with a morning meal:

10. Breakfast helps to make you more alert and mentally prepared for your day.
9. If you don’t make something at home, breakfast is usually the most inexpensive meal to order in a restaurant.
8. It’s a good time to check in with your family/friends for a few minutes first thing in the morning.
7. Breakfast jump starts your metabolism and gets the calorie-burning mechanism up and running as soon as you are.
6. Early morning sunlight is nice to eat by.
5. Eating breakfast makes it less likely that you’ll get too hungry and binge on high-calorie snacks.
4. It’s a nice time to get centered before starting a busy day.
3. There’s coffee (or tea in my case!).
2. It helps you keep the weight off: The most successful weight-loss maintainers eat breakfast regularly, according to the National Weight Control Registry.

And the #1 reason to love breakfast is: You get to enjoy yummy breakfast bakes like my cinnamon-apple version with oatmeal and toasted buckwheat groats! Or if you prefer a savory breakfast, try my open-faced egg sandwich, homemade healthy breakfast sausage or italian-style baked egg cups.

I’ve been loving breakfast bakes these days – both savory and sweet (savory version coming soon!). This hearty and healthy recipe was inspired by Ashley’s Buckwheat Bake at the Edible Perspective, and has a bit more of a cake or muffin texture from the ground oats than my quick banana bread quinoa flake bake.

I cooked my brekkie bake in the toaster oven but you could probably microwave it for 1 minute or so if you are short on time – however, be careful not to overcook or it will turn into a dry brick!

Cinnamon-Apple Breakfast Bake

Ingredients

1/4 cup ground gluten free oats/oat flour (or could sub buckwheat flour, millet flour or teff flour)
1 Tbsp toasted buckwheat groats (or raw – could also sub millet or rolled oats)
1/2 T ground flaxseed
1/2 – 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1Tbsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 – 2 tsp honey (agave for vegan, maple syrup or  could use stevia to taste)
1/4 cup applesauce (or sub pumpkin/squash puree but will be slightly less sweet or 1/2 large mashed banana)
1 egg, whisked (or 1 flax egg for vegan – 1T ground flax meal + 2.5T warm water, whisked)
3 Tbsp almond or coconut milk (from carton, not can)

For Cinnamon-Apple Topping

1/2 small apple, chopped (I left skin on and used a Fuji)
1/2 tsp coconut oil or butter
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp honey, maple syrup, agave or other sweetener, optional for sweeter topping
pinch of sea salt
dash of cloves and/or nutmeg, optional
dash of lemon juice

For serving

1/2  – 1 Tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
1-2 tsp coconut butter or unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a small oven-safe bowl or ramekin with coconut oil (or butter). I used a 4 inch ramekin but have cooked one in a 6 inch bowl and reduced cooking time by 5 minutes.
2. To prepare the bake, combine dry ingredients (oat flour through salt) in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients (vanilla through milk) and mix to combine. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until moistened and incorporated.
3. Add batter to the greased bowl/ramekin and bake for 26-32 minutes (mine cooked for 27) or until bake pulls away from the sides.
4.  Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon-apple topping (I started cooking the topping when the bake had about 15 minutes left). Heat the coconut oil in a small skillet over medium heat, then add apples and saute for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the sweetener, cinnamon, cloves and/or nutmeg and salt and cook for another 5 -7 minutes or until tender. Stir in lemon juice and keep warm.
5. When bake is done, you can either serve in the ramekin/bowl or let sit for a minute or two them turn out onto a plate. Top with nut butter, cinnamon apples and coconut butter or coconut flakes and enjoy!

Variations – feel free to add chopped apple to the bake batter, chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts or peanuts would all be delicious) or coconut flakes.

*For different flavor combos, try adding different chopped fruit (either dried or fresh – strawberries, cherries, pineapple, blueberries, pears etc), chocolate/carob chips or cocoa powder and mix up the spices and types of flour to your liking.

Sonia at The Healthy Foodie has an Instant Chocolate-Cherry Buckwheat Bake that looks and tastes like chocolate cake for breakfast! The vanilla custard topping is amazing, I’ve made it several times and love it! 🙂

This recipe is featured at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Amy’s Simply Sugar and Gluten Free blog this week!