I know that oatmeal isn’t always a favorite, especially when it’s served plain. With this DIY banana split oatmeal bar, oatmeal will soon become a breakfast favorite for all, guaranteed.
Growing up in Spain, I never ate oatmeal. My grandmother used oats in baked goods so I didn’t learn to like oatmeal until I moved to the states as an adult in college.
I distinctly remember going down to the food hall on any given morning and seeing people eat bowls of plain oatmeal with a little brown sugar for breakfast. Brown and more brown was just not appealing to me –at all.
One day, I saw a girl meticulously build a bowl of oatmeal the same way you’d build a salad. Using cooked oatmeal as the base, instead of lettuce, and build it up from there.
Watch how easy and fun this breakfast is to make!
Instead of topping it with the sugar or syrup and raisins sitting next to the plain oatmeal, she walked over to the fruit bar and began to add berries, a sliced banana, and a spoonful of yogurt.
This single bowl was the only thing she took over to the table and I watched her enjoy each bite –a little creepy I know, but I had never seen anyone eat oatmeal that way!
So what did I do? I created my own bowl of goodness with a sliced banana, strawberries, and yogurt. The result was something thick, delicious, and a meal that kept me satiated for hours. That day, I became a fan of oats and now you can see that I use them often in a variety of ways in different recipes.
Of course, today’s recipe is a bit more of an organized display to help those of us with selective eaters learn to love oatmeal.
The process is simple and the amount of ingredients you display on the counter or table don’t matter that much. What’s important is to allow our kids to get creative and enjoy breakfast!
Over time, you won’t even need chocolate chips; well, you could omit them today, but without a little chocolate this recipe wouldn’t be called banana split oatmeal bar.
If your oatmeal is watery, thicken it up with one of these methods.
Banana Split Oatmeal Bar
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced
- 12 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Assemble banana split buffet toppings in separate dishes by slicing bananas in half, slicing the strawberries, and placing the yogurt, chocolate chips and walnuts in small dishes.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the oats, water, milk, and honey. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the oats are cooked and have achieved a thick consistency. Transfer cooked oatmeal into a large serving dish.
- Begin to fill an individual bowl with about ½ cup of cooked oats and then continue to top with an assortment of toppings.
Justine
Here is a tip: limit the amount of chocolate chips each child can have. I left the bowl out for “self-serve” and my 3 year old dumped all the contents into his oatmeal when I wasn’t looking -sneaky little guy!
★★★★★
Anna
I made these oats this weekend and my family thought they were having dessert for breakfast. Thank you!
★★★★★