Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Apple, Cranberry and Walnut topped Oatmeal



The weather was cool this morning, and we were out of frozen blueberries and mixed berries so I made my husband’s favorite breakfast, oatmeal. Dan loves oatmeal but I don’t give it too him that often because I believe fruit smoothies have more nutrition. He was quite happy that we had used all the frozen berries yesterday and I hadn’t made it to Costco yet to replenish our stock.

I try to keep some lightly cooked apples in the refrigerator for a quick dessert, to top seitan, or just for a snack. It has the added benefit of making the house smell wonderful while they are cooking. I core the apples, cut them into bite sized pieces add a touch of water, some cinnamon, ginger and vanilla and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes (but I like them to still be a little firm). I then put the apples in a jar in the refrigerator without the cooking liquid. Sometimes I will add more water to the pot I used to cook the apples and simmer that for a couple of hours since the spices will act like a natural air freshener.

Sorry for the diversion. Having those apples in the refrigerator made cooking our oatmeal quick this morning. I microwaved a serving of oatmeal and then topped it with a generous serving of unmeasured apples (probably a cup), added a few frozen cranberries and cooked it until the cranberries were soft. Next I topped the oatmeal with a little cinnamon and ginger, chopped walnuts and a drizzle of agave.

Everyone was happy this morning. My husband got his oatmeal, I and got him to eat apples, cranberries and walnuts for breakfast. This breakfast is a good compromise if you have someone in your house that likes cereal and you want him or her to eat more fruit.

I am off to exercise, get ready for cooking class and run to the health food store. I will try to post again later today, but my day is going to be long today. I hope everyone has a great day!

8 comments:

  1. This looks really good. We have oatmeal several times a week, and my husband has finally made me a fan of it.

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  2. Michelle,

    Men seem to universally like oatmeal, at least that has been my experience. I think oatmeal is good, but I certainly don't love it like my hubby. However, when you put lots of warm fruit on top, now I really like it.

    thanks for stopping by,
    Alicia

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  3. We eat a lot of oatmeal, I love it. I always add brazil nuts to it for the selenium, a good cancer fighter, and lots of fruit.

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  4. Janet,

    Brazil nuts are a great source of selenium. My husband isn't crazy about them so I have to hide them in food. I like to chop them up and add one or two to dishes that contain other nuts. I hadn't thought about adding them to oatmeal. Maybe I will see if I can sneak those in under the radar. However, since the hubby sometimes reads the blog I may be busted before I try it.

    thanks for the idea,
    Alicia

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  5. Janet,

    Funny, but sadly true. My husband eats well most of the time but something I need to resort to hide the food tactics.

    Alicia

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  6. That looks so good and it's such a great idea to top the oatmeal with apple, cranberry and walnut. I always eat oatmeal for breakfast when I'm rushing to get to work and I don't have enough time to make my green smoothie. I'll try your version tomorrow, can't wait!
    p.s. This morning I put maple syrup in my oatmeal, it was boring!

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  7. Oraphan,

    Thanks. :) I received an email asking me about the quantities and nutrition on this recipe so I measured everything this morning. I am post that later this morning.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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