Many times, I wake my kiddos in the morning and their first question is, “What’s for breakfast?” Usually my response is, “Ummmm… I don’t know.” I hit a brick wall first thing in the morning and my brain goes into a tizzy.
What do I do for breakfast? I let my kiddos eat cereal once a week. However for the sake of the grocery budget and processed food intake, cereal is not an option in our family e.v.e.r.y morning. I want to hold on to that habit, so out comes my cookbook. I look desperately looking for something for all of them to eat. And, we are getting there. We have a couple of good recipes for breakfast (here and here).
What made me figure out this recipe? Last year, I decided to go on a diet. I didn’t lose a pound, but I found a lot of inspiration in the process. The diet encouraged eating oats, as oatmeal contains fiber and lower blood sugar.
On top of the health benefits of oats, the diet taught me to add fruits and/or veggies, an easy serving of fruits or vegetables first meal of the morning.
It set the wheels in my brain spinning. Maybe I could make oatmeal with fruit? One morning, I tried cranberries and oranges… the response was a unanimous “Ewwww…”. I tried tinkering some more by changing to apples, apple juice, cinnamon… and received the Empty Pot Award. 🙂 The kiddos gobble up this up. It worked!
Now, I have a gluten free, dairy free, corn free, nut free and soy free recipe for breakfast that ALL of my kids can eat – Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal – in my cookbook to answer the question, “What’s for breakfast?”
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. canola oil
- 1 apple
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1 c. rolled oats
- 1 c. milk of choice
- 1 c. apple juice (or water)
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. honey
Instructions
Core, slice and chop an apple into 1/2" chunks.
In a medium sized saucepan, pour canola oil on the bottom of the pan to coat it. Turn the heat to medium. Add the apples and cinnamon. Gently stir the apples and cinnamon for 3-5 minutes until the apples are softened.
Add the oats, milk, apple juice, brown sugar and honey to the cooked apples.
Bring to a boil, stirring continually. Reduce heat to low. Continue to stir oatmeal to keep it from sticking to the pan until it is thick. Remove from heat.
Serve warm.
