Pineapple Coconut Baked Oatmeal

 

 

 

These flavors make you think of sunshine and beach days (pina coladas!) and I thought it was the perfect recipe to try on a beautiful, sunny Florida morning. Unfortunately, I woke to a thunderstorm rolling in, so it's a little dark and gloomy, but looking at the bright side; a perfect morning for baking.

I do love pineapple and coconut and don't really think of these flavors when thinking of oatmeal, but I have seen tropical French toast at brunch spots, so it really does work. I also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk to add to the flavor and you could also add sliced almonds for a delicious crunch.

I'm all about tropical, light flavors right now and while I'm sure when Fall comes, I'll be back to wanting apple and cinnamon in my oatmeal, for today, it's sunshiny flavors all the time.

 

Pineapple Coconut Baked Oatmeal

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup brown sugar ( I used Splenda for baking)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup melted butter

1 small container Greek vanilla yogurt

2/3 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 small can crushed pineapple

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl combine all dry ingredients. Beat eggs, melted butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla together in a separate bowl with a fork. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well combined. Add in pineapple and coconut. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until set. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Florida Decor - Guest Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is the start of a series of posts that will show my new house in Florida. I decided to start with one of the guest rooms, because I think it gives a real feel for the style of my new home and its coastal decor.

I really had fun with this room and wanted it to be calm and inviting, with soft beachy colors and white bedding. My goal was for our guests to feel like they are on vacation and they are here to relax. My inspiration was this pin from Pinterest that I saved quite some time ago and I feel I came pretty close. The room is a mixture of things we already owned and new finds. The white quilts are new, the bedside table was purchased at a local furniture shop and the decor items were found at various places, including Home Goods. The shells in the jar are collected from our local beaches and we (or our guests) will fill it up over time.

We are looking for a special piece of wall art and I would like to add some soft throws on the ends of the beds, but otherwise, it's all ready for guests - and my daughters were the very first to use it :-)

Happy Tuesday!

 

New Places to Walk

 

 

 

 

 

Walking is definitely different in Florida. I have needed to make some adjustments, but all in all, it has been fun discovering new places. Usually I walk in my neighborhood, because I like seeing all the houses, landscaping and seeing the new construction that changes daily. I'm hoping it is also a good way to meet new people. In Michigan, I usually tried to walk between 5 and 6 pm and it was rarely too hot at that time. Here, I need to wait until closer to 8 pm and it usually is quite comfortable. The sun sets earlier here, on the east coast of the USA, so that's pretty close to sunset and I'm always mindful of finishing my walk before dark to avoid any unwelcome surprises from alligators.

While I prefer to walk in the evening, rather than the morning (it's better for my blood sugar), today I drove to downtown Venice and took a lovely walk from downtown to the beach. There is a shaded path that runs through the middle of a boulevard and shade is definitely my friend here, even fairly early in the morning. The gulf was beautiful and even though dogs aren't allowed on the beach, my puppy and I sat on a bench in the pavilion for a few minutes and enjoyed the shade and the view.

There is another walking path I will try soon, but need to get there fairly early since it follows the intercostal waterway and there is no shade at all. I'm hoping to spot a few dolphins on that walk.

It's all very different than my former walking paths through the woods, but new sights are always interesting. As long as I have water, a hat and most importantly my favorite walking buddy, my walks will be part of my new life here.

Have a wonderful weekend!