Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking dish or cake pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Trim the zip and tail off of the zucchini squash and use a box grater or a food processor (with a grating attachment) to shred it.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, protein powder, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon and sea salt (dry ingredients) and mix until well-combined.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, almond butter, and vanilla extract (wet ingredients). Mix until well-combined. Note: if you store your almond butter in the refrigerator and it is very cold, you can microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds to soften it up and make it easier to mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Transfer the grated zucchini to the mixing bowl with the oatmeal mixture and mix well.

Pour the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer. Note: if you're making the recipe ahead of time, wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap until you're ready to bake.

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the oatmeal is golden brown on top and tests clean.

Allow the zucchini baked oats to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing into 9 individual servings and serving.

If you’d like, you can drizzle the baked oats with drippy almond butter. For a sweeter treat, make a powdered sugar glaze by mixing together 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of water or lemon juice in a small bowl.