This weekend brought rain to Arizona and gave me a yearning for warm oatmeal. My personal favorite is steel oats. They take a little more time but I like the chewy nutty texture. Oats are generally made with water but I had the juicer going and decided to try cooking the oats in fresh apple juice. Now you don’t need to juice your own apples but next time you make oats try changing out your water with apple juice. It brings a natural sweetness into your breakfast. Note: Apples are listed on the dirty dozen list because of the high amount of pesticides used in producing the fruit. Always opt for organic apples or apple juice whenever possible.
- 2 cups of organic apple juice
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of steel oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
- Blueberries - fresh or frozen
- Fruit Spread - I used apricot
- Pecan pieces
- Milk - I used unsweetened almond
- Heat liquids and spices in pan to a boil.
- Add steel oats and stir.
- Cover pan and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 18-20 minutes.
- Uncover. Most of the liquid should be gone. Stir.
- Place 1/3 cup of blueberries in your serving bowl (if you use use frozen - place them in serving bowl before cooking the oats to defrost a bit)
- Place 1/4 of the cooked oats on top.
- Add a little milk to thin out oats.
- Place a generous tsp of fruit spread on top if additional sweetener is desired.
- Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of pecan pieces.
- Leftover oats can be placed in individual storage containers and placed in refrigerator or freezer for later use.
