This apple cinnamon oatmeal recipe has familiar, comforting flavors, but also some special ingredients that make it both tastier and healthier! I’ve taken some ingredients out of the TCM playbook: Chinese red dates, goji berries, Chinese brown sugar, and nuts.
It served me well during my postpartum period, when I was looking for something warm, quick, and filling for breakfast. I found myself prepping it in advance for future breakfasts and feeling thoroughly nourished after every bowl!
What I Mean By “TCM Twist”
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, often uses food to help heal the body. Though we aren’t TCM experts or doctors, we do have knowledge that has been passed down from older generations.
As I myself get older (I’m staring down the barrel of 34 this year), I’ve begun taking all the “old wives” tales, advice, and guidance my mom and grandma have shared over the years more seriously!
(That is, I’ve gone from completely ignoring it in my childhood and teen years to faithfully adhering to such rules as: not going to bed with my hair wet, wearing socks or slippers in the house—avoiding bare feet, especially in the colder months—and drinking ginger date tea when I feel a cold coming on.)
So when I recently had a baby and went through my 1-Month Post Childbirth Confinement, I knew I wasn’t exactly supposed to be downing bacon and eggs every single morning.
Let me pause here to tell you that I am generally NOT an oatmeal fan. It’s just never been my go-to, and every time I’d eat it, I would wonder why I—or anyone else—bothered with such a boring food.
But darn it, after I had Ethan, I was craving the stuff! I think I was just looking for something steamy and warm and maybe just a little bit sweet to coat my insides after what turned out to be a stressful (and SHIVERY—no one told me how much shivering there’d be) emergency C-section.
ANYWAY, I decided to go with that most classic of oatmeal combinations: apples and cinnamon. I also added:
- Chinese red dates: sweet and delicious, but also for healing, building blood, and reducing fatigue (believe you me…I had fatigue in spades.)
- Goji berries: an antioxidant-rich superfood gaining more popularity in the West and used in Chinese cooking to promote circulation and boost the immune system
- Walnuts: to expel cold and in regular nutrition-speak, provide healthy fats and protein
- Chinese Black Sugar: to warm the body.
Plus, cinnamon is also thought to warm the body and promote circulation! Oats are also a warming ingredient.
Sense a pattern here? All the ingredients in this oatmeal were basically designed to help take my cold, depleted body and warm it back up!
As a bonus some believe that oats support lactation, so if you’re a breastfeeding parent, that’s yet another reason to try this.
Just a Good Breakfast
All that aside, this is just a tasty, wholesome bowl of warm oatmeal, and it’s easy to boot. I always felt a bit better after eating it in the morning, and despite my previous oatmeal aversion, I found myself really enjoying it!
There’s a lot of flavor here, from cinnamon, nutmeg, the dried fruit, apples, vanilla, and the Chinese black sugar (you can use brown sugar too, if you can’t find the Chinese stuff).
From there, you can add additional flavorings:
- One of my favorite additions was a dollop of plain yogurt for creaminess.
- A dab of peanut butter or almond butter isn’t bad either.
- If you’re looking for more sweetness, you can add more brown sugar to taste, or a drizzle of maple syrup.
- You could also experiment with nuts or other fruits.
The moral of the story: this recipe is endlessly customizable.
An oatmeal recipe may not scream The Woks of Life. But it played such a big role in my life for a month, I had to document it here.
Whether you’re healing from something, looking to make breakfast time a bit healthier, or you’re an ardent oatmeal fan who can’t fathom the shade I just threw at it, this recipe is for you!
NOTE:
When I blogged this recipe, Kaitlin commented that it looked like there was more fruit than oats in my bowl.
I guess she’s right. This is the ratio that I enjoy. But if you want more oat in your meal, you can increase the oats by ½ cup, and increase the water to 3½ cups.
You may need an extra spoonful of sugar and perhaps another dash of cinnamon to even it out. Just follow your kitchen instincts and make this recipe your own.
Sarah’s Special Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal: Recipe Instructions
Bring water to a boil in a pot. Immediately stir in the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, dates, goji berries, and apples. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Uncover the pot, and stir in the Chinese sugar and vanilla.
Cover once again, and let sit for another 5 minutes to thicken. If the oatmeal is too thick for your liking, you can add water. If it’s not thick enough, cook it a little longer.
(The oatmeal will thicken as it sits, so you can always stir in additional water if needed.)
Sprinkle with nuts, and top with any optional ingredients if desired. Serve!
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Recipe
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 large or 2 small apples (peeled if desired and diced)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch salt
- 10 Chinese Red Dates (pitted and then sliced or chopped)
- 2 tablespoons Goji Berries
- 2 tablespoons Chinese black sugar (or to taste; can substitute regular brown sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Walnuts or pecans (toasted or un-toasted—your choice)
- optional add-ins (dollop of nut butter, spoonful of plain yogurt for creaminess, drizzle of maple syrup)
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a pot. Immediately add the oats, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, dates, and goji berries. Stir until combined. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Uncover the pot, and stir in the Chinese sugar and vanilla.
- Cover and let sit for another 5 minutes to thicken. If the oatmeal is too thick for your liking, you can add water. If it’s not thick enough, cook it a little longer. The oatmeal will thicken as it sits, so you can always stir in additional water if needed.
- Sprinkle with nuts, and top with any optional ingredients if desired. Serve!
