Stewed Apple & Chocolate Tahini Oats
Five years ago, I went on the AIP diet and eliminated oatmeal from my diet. At the time, my gut was in pain 24/7 and I didn’t know why or what was contributing to it. I knew I wouldn’t get help from conventional doctors and I didn’t have the capacity to pay a lot of money out of pocket for answers. So, I went on the Autoimmune Protocol and gave up my staple breakfast for five years.
In the middle of last year, I was finally able to reintroduce them again and they have become a staple in my diet ever since.
A few reasons I love oatmeal so much is because:
It’s gentle on the gut (for most people)
It’s nutrient dense and satiating
It’s full of fiber
I like to eat seasonally and now eat a predominantly water-based diet which means 75-80% of my meals are cooked using water. And oatmeal is perfect for this reason. In the fall and winter seasons I like to purchase apples from the farmer’s market and add them to my oats.
Sometimes I’ll even make a big batch of stewed apples and pop them in the fridge so I can use them whenever I like without having to worry if they’re going to go bad. This is one of my go-to oatmeal recipes.
I use unhulled tahini from Pepperwood organics as well as a black tahini, also unhulled from Kevala. The chocolate hazelnut butter spread I used to spice up this recipe is from Fine & Raw. I’ve tried a number of healthy hazelnut spreads and this one of the best I’ve had.
Here are the links:
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Ingredients:
Oatmeal:
(Makes 1 serving)
1 cup water or nut milk
1/2 cup of oats
a big sprinkle of cinnamon
pinch of salt
dash of vanilla extract
Stewed apples (recipe below)
2 tbsp of tahini (unhulled; either black tahini or regular)
Stewed Apples:
(Makes multiple servings)
2-5 lbs of apples, cored and diced into small pieces
Cinnamon to taste (I like to add a lot)
1/4 cup water
dash of vanilla
Preparations:
To make the apples, add them all to a large stock pot with 1/4 cup of water, vanilla and cinnamon. The apples will reduce and become soft and liquid from them will release. This can take anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes depending on how many apples you’re stewing.
Once they have cooled I store these in portions in the freezer.
For the oatmeal, add a cup of water to a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, stewed apples and a pinch of salt. Bring this to a boil.
Once the water has boiled, reduce the heat and add in the oatmeal. Allow it to cook per package instructions. I usually do quick oats and they cook in about a minute or two.
By this time the apples should also unfreeze on the stove if they’ve been frozen and if they haven’t been frozen they’ll be delicious as well.
Top with tahini and chocolate hazelnut spread from Fine & Raw.