{One Bowl} Baked Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Bars

Happy Sunday morning, friends!

How about waking up to a big bar of something filled with cinnamon flavor?

Warm, perfectly sweet, filling, and with that perfect drizzle of powdered sugar topping. Now that’s how you start a morning off right!

Less words and more photos today because I am eexxxxxxhausted. Some of you might recall that I’ve been training for the last few months for a half marathon, and early Saturday morning, I finally did it!

A big group of my friends all chose to run it together and we conquered all the rolling hills that make up the Solvang race. While I’m glad I can check it off my bucket list, I think I’ll be taking a step back from running and am going to focus more on weight training for a while. I miss it!

So yes. We did it! I’m SO sore! I’ve come to the conclusion that the stairs are actually satan’s creation and I might just die if I have to go up them once more (Kyle had to help me get up when we first got home from the race).

I’m planning on kicking my healthy eating back in shape since running makes me feel like I can eat ALL the food. And while I can eat a good amount, stuffing your face with nachos every other day does take a toll on your body and my insides feel kinda greasy. Which is just one of the reasons (along with the plain old deliciousness factor) that I created these Baked Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Bars! These have all the tastiness of a treat, but in a portable bar that’s filled with oats and healthy fats. Woop woop!

I’ve been a bit off my oatmeal kick lately. I used to have a big obsession with my brown sugar banana oats, but now I’ve been all about yogurt bowls or toast. I tried to take the lazy way out by buying the pre-made packages of oats, but they just don’t do it for me. I’ve been craving a big warm bowl of oats in the morning, but I didn’t have any bananas to spare. Thus, this cinnamon roll version was born!

I’ve been spoiled for this school quarter in that I don’t start class until 11 a.m on my earliest days. I’m used to being up bright and early to eat breakfast and rush off to class,  but now I have all the time in the world to put together a big breakfast. Old habits die hard, though, and I still keep to relatively simple morning meals that can come together in a flash. With this recipe, all it takes is 5 minutes and a few simple ingredients that you already probably have in your pantry.

Instead of reaching for that calorie-laden and fatty cinnamon roll on a daily basis, save it as a treat and enjoy this healthy and filling baked oatmeal recipe instead! Not only will your insides feel good, but your tastebuds will thank you too 😉 .