March Madness

I don't know what March Madness is, but my own version would probably be March Baking Madness. Brett keeps saying I'm baking too many goodies and he's going to get fat. Well, I keep volunteering to bring baked goods to parties, meetings, and fundraisers.... and so why not make enough for us too, right?

I don't normally buy nuts unless I really have to have them for a dire purpose. Mom usually sends me ziploc bags full of walnuts and almonds for birthdays and special occasions. (I have such an awesome Mom who still sends me care packages!) ....so I don't have to buy them myself; one of those perks of knowing someone who has a Costco membership. But as of three months ago, I'm all out of nuts.
I got really lucky last week while I was out trying to find Easter basket treats - they had bags of plain walnuts on sale for $1.50 at Dollar General! Score!

So, I have this recipe that Gramma Fisher emailed me back in February that I've been excited to try. It's called Oatless Oatmeal, but it's made with nuts, and I finally had all the ingredients to make it. I made it for our dinner this past Sunday afternoon, and it was actually pretty good. One of those foods that makes you feel like a health nut. (no pun intended)

Oatless Oatmeal

makes 2 servings

In a food processor or blender combine 1/4 cup plain walnuts, *1/4 cup plain almonds, 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed, and 1 teaspoon of allspice into a course grain (not to a powder). Mash together 1/2 a ripe banana and 1 Tablespoon of creamy peanut butter. In a saucepan whisk together 3 eggs and **1/4 cup milk. Whisk in peanut butter banana mixture. Place on medium low heat and stir in nut mixture with a rubber spatula. Stir frequently for 15-20 minutes until ***desired consistency is reached. Serve with milk and a drizzle of honey.

*I only used walnuts, and because my blender is a cheap one I chopped them finely by hand with a good old knife on the cutting board, then combined it with flax seed and allspice in a small bowl.
**I used prepared powdered milk. You could use any kind of milk.
***I stirred about every minute until the eggy gloss mostly disappeared. The thought of raw or undercooked eggs gives me quivers.

Review: Brett liked it with a lot of honey, but, then again, he eats honey like Winnie-the-Pooh. I thought it had a natural sweetness to it, so I barely added maybe only 1/2 teaspoon of honey on mine and we both enjoyed it. It was crunchy, nutty, and very satisfying. Chock full of good fats and protein. I ate leftovers next morning for breakfast.
Credit: Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD


Just to clarify any rumors, yes, we did get into another car accident. Two weeks ago, a block away from our Sunday church destination, a car ran a stop sign and we collided with it. We skidded almost to a stop when we hit, so the damage was very minimal and there were no injuries. No airbags deployed. Just the front bumper needs to be replaced. The grills and license plate took most of the damage.