Apple-pie oatmeal

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Oatmeal – one of the best choices for breakfast! It is supposed to help with weight loss, manage your cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, and lower blood sugar levels. Combine that with apples and cinnamon, and you’ve got a trifecta for breakfast that is sooo healthy and good for you and helps you stay full for a couple of hours! While Nilesh and I’ve had oatmeal for breakfast for a while, I’m trying some combinations to entice the kids with a healthy breakfast as they rush out of the door at 6:45am!

The sweet aroma of apples with cinnamon baking wafts through the air as the kids wake up and get ready for school. If that doesn’t tempt them with breakfast, nothing else will.

SERVINGS: 2

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 sweet apples -cores and evenly sliced
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 2 tsp honey (alternative is 2 tsp maple or agave syrup)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (GF for gluten-free eaters)
  • 2 cups water ( or 1 cup water and 1 cup regular milk or unsweetened almond milk)
  • 1/4 cup chopped almonds, or walnuts
  • 4 whole dates (finely chopped)
  • Optional: Flax seeds, chia seeds, brown sugar

METHOD:

  1. If using the oven:
    1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
    2. Toss the apples with cinnamon powder, 1 tsp honey and lemon juice
    3. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and lay apples flat on the pan
    4. When oven is ready, put pan in the oven, bake the apples for 5 minutes
    5. When 5 minutes is up, remove pan from oven, roll over parchment paper to create a box so the apples are in a sort of “pocket” to trap in moisture. Place pan back in oven and cook for 15 minutes more until soft.
  2. If using the stove-top:
    1. Add the apples, honey, and sprinkle in the cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the apples are softened
  3. Making the oatmeal:
    1. In a small saucepan over high heat, add oats, and water(or water/milk or milk only). When it comes to a boil, reduce to low-medium heat and cook until thick and creamy to a desirable consistency
    2. Once think, remove from stove top
  4. Serving:
    1. When oatmeal has cooled slightly, arrange 4-5 slices of baked apples in bottom of a serving bowl. Top with oats. Add 1/3 cup of the apple slices as topping to the oatmeal along with 1/2 the nuts and a drizzle of the honey
    2. Other toppings may include flaxseed, chia seed, brown sugar