Life continues to be cold and dark here on the east coast. As much as I would love to find comfort in a chocolate cake, believe it or not I am trying to make healthy foodie decisions. It is challenging.
As a picky eater, even decadent recipes can leave me unsatisfied but in the name of good health I am trying to make healthier choices here and there. I bring you, Amy B’s Apple Pie Oatmeal from her blog Family Feedbag, which is a fabulous blog BTW and Amy rocks!
Bring 1 cup of water in a small sauce pan to boil. Add 1/2 cup quick cooking oats, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1 apple, cored and chopped but with the skins on. The recipe did not say how finely chopped so I left it kind of chunky.
Bring the temperature down to low and let simmer 2-3 minutes. Add a sprinkle of brown sugar on top and milk if you desire. I, do not. Warm milk?!??
I also drizzled some real maple syrup on top. Oh how I wanted to love this Amy!!! It is just a little too wet and goopy for me and the apples too hard. I did grate them in the second time I made it but the overall texture still bothered me. If you love homemade oatmeal, however, this is a wonderful recipe and is reminiscent of apple pie. It was not the flavours that disappointed but the texture.
One of the reasons I don’t mind packaged oatmeal is it can get remain quite dry. It shocks me that I may prefer packaged food over the real deal! On Facebook people suggested using steel cut oats instead so I will give that a try next time. If you are looking for a lot of flavour-inspirations, check out this site and its 13 ways to enjoy oatmeal.
Onto dessert! I tried making Occasions Magazine’s Grilled Bananas with Rum, Pineapple Glaze for one. The original recipe makes a serving from 4-6 which is just way too much for my household. It is a continuous challenge for me to pair recipes down so I don’t have a ton of leftovers. When I do, I feel obligated to eat everything to avoid waste, encouraging an over-indulgence in calories and fat. I liked the idea of this recipe because it was fruit-based and relied on rum for a lot of the flavouring. Nothing wrong with that!
Unfortunately the recipe did not say how ripe the bananas should be so I cut my tiny but very-ripe banana in half, kept the skins on and added it to my cast iron grill pan.
I tried to divide the recipe into a quarter of the original recipe so I put in some tinned pineapple, a heaping tbsp unsalted butter and a heaping tsp of brown sugar into a small sauce pan with a few tbsp of rum. I brought everything to a simmer over medium heat and waited for the sauce to become a rich glaze. It never did. In fact, it just evaporated.
My banana grilled nicely but got so soft it fell apart in a few places. I added the sauce-less pineapple and topped with my candied pecans. It was delicious but I missed the sauce! I did like this enough I would make it again and next time cook an entire batch of the rum and pineapple glaze.
I have been receiving more and more cookbooks focusing on eating healthy lately and really do hope I find some winners in there. I am not resistant to healthy food at all. I started my food journey because I wanted to eat more homemade food which, for me, is the key to good health. I just hope that I find a lot of foodie treasures that I can share with you so we can all eat more real food without sacrificing flavour!
I have issues with oatmeal too because of texture. It’s grown on me and I can now handle a bit of it every morning. I bought a big huge bag of quick oats instead of the instant stuff and I add some agave nectar to it. It cooks in about 4 minutes and is dry enough for me. Maybe you could try that too.
Suzie, you’re not alone with the oatmeal texture issue. My Nik and I love oatmeal in any way, shape or form but the rest of the family just gags at the thought of eating it. I actually cannot eat oatmeal made with boiling water, I always use low fat milk to cook the oats. For me it just gives it a little extra creaminess and flavour. I’m thinking that a bowl of cooked oats topped with your candied pecans and a bit of dried fruit would be awesome!
Mmmm bananas, rum and pineapple! Yum and perfect for a light summer dessert.
Alex, I actually like the packaged oatmeal with the hot water. I can’t figure out what the difference is but it is significant.
Ava, like I said, I don’t mind it when it’s in the package. I didn’t realize you can cook it in low fat milk? I have heard of people cooking it in apple juice too. Thanks, will think about it for sure!
I agree, going to try making that sauce again because that would be such a great summer treat which I find difficult to come up with.
Yay healthy! I seem to go back and forth between binging on junk and being a health food nut. I try my best to eat healthy, but it can be such a challenge!
Oatmeal is delicious. I usually eat the packaged stuff, and it’s not bad. The best oatmeal I have ever had though was a few months ago at my school cafeteria. I’m not sure how they made it, but I had it with maple syrup, brown sugar, and almonds. Okay, not so healthy, but the texture was perfect and I’d love to make it myself. I’d add fruit and nuts instead of tons of sugar.