These Golden Oats with Caramelized Apples sound like a sweet-treat breakfast but it’s actually super healthy! Creamy oats golden with turmeric powder, mixed with blueberries, peanut butter, cinnamon, and topped with lightly-sweetened caramelized apples. For bonus points I add flaxseed meal, making this tasty and easy-to-make morning meal a breakfast of champions!
Tips for success
- Use whichever oats you have! I usually make this with regular or quick-cooking steel cut oats, but I also like to mix it up with rolled oats. Feel free to use other healthy grains too, like millet or quinoa!
- Don’t peel the apple skins! So many nutrients are concentrated in the apple skin and throwing that part out is nuts. Why peel? It’s not necessary and doesn’t make the apples taste better! If anything, the peel adds more flavor and a little texture along with adding a ton of antioxidants and nutrients and possibly lengthening and improving quality of life. But hey, that’s just me.
- The longer the cook time with oats, the more nutritious they are. Regular steel-cut oats will be the best bet hands down, followed by quick-cooking steel cut oats, then rolled oats, and finally quick-cooking rolled oats at the bottom of the list.
Whole grains, whole life
Are you eating enough? The US Dietary Guidelines recommends 3-5 servings of whole grains each day! Whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice, millet, for example) are made up of the entire grain: the bran, germ and endosperm. Refined grains are ground down into flour or meal, which removes the bran and germ. This unfortunately also removes the B vitamins, iron and fiber. The less processed, the better!
Whole grains are incredibly healthy, loaded with vitamins, fiber, protein, and nutrients. Yes, protein! Many people think of whole grains as carbohydrate-rich foods but they are also an incredible source of protein!
Whole grains are essential for healthy living! Incorporating whole grains in your diet every meal helps improve blood cholesterol levels and reduces risk for heart disease and stroke, lowers risk of type II diabetes, and keeps you feeling full longer and therefore helps with weight loss.1
An apple a day…
The saying we all grew up hearing, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” isn’t exaggerating; eating a single apple daily reduces your chance of dying from all causes put together by 35%! 2 Many of the nutrients are concentrated in the apple peel, so never peel apples!! You’ll be throwing out the most important part of the fruit!
Apples are incredibly rich in fiber (one medium-sized apple contains 16% of the daily recommended intake) and antioxidants.3 One apple a day may reduce your risk of breast and colorectal cancers by 20% as well as lung, esophageal, and larynx cancers, thanks mostly to the polyphenols and fiber content!45 Incorporating apples into your daily diet can help reduce blood cholesterol 6 which helps protect against heart disease.
Many people with type II diabetes avoid fruit entirely, thinking it’s “too much sugar” but that isn’t the reality at all! Apples may help protect against type II diabetes, as the polyphenols slow the digestion and absorption of blood sugars.7 Apples aren’t skyrocketing anyone’s blood sugar; believe it or not, they are a actually considered a low glycemic food rated at 44 on the glycemic index 8. For reference, high glycemic index ratings are 70+, medium is 56-69, and low is below 55. An apple a day may keep type II diabetes away!
Blueberries
Blueberries are thought of as a super food for good reason, as they are loaded with antioxidants! The anthocyanins, the main compound that gives blueberries their rich blue color, are the antioxidants. Similar to most fruits and vegetables, most of the antioxidants are concentrated in the skin.
Blueberries may provide protection against cancer, especially breast cancer and cancer of the GI tract 9, help control blood sugar as well as improve insulin sensitivity, boost brain health and heart health. Berries in general have nearly 10x more antioxidant power than other fruits and vegetables!10 A cup of blueberries a day may also keep the doctor away!
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Golden Oats with Caramelized Apples
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Golden Oats with Caramelized Apples sounds like a sweet-treat breakfast but it’s actually super healthy! Creamy oats golden from turmeric powder, with blueberries, peanut butter, cinnamon, and topped with lightly-sweetened caramelized apples.
Ingredients
Caramelized Apples
- 2 apples, sliced and unpeeled
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
Oats
- 3/4 cup steel cut oats (regular or quick cooking) or sub rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- few grinds of black pepper
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter
- 1–2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
- 3/4 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
For serving
- plant milk
Instructions
- In a large skillet (preferably non-stick) on medium heat, add everything under “Caramelized Apples” and stir to coat evenly. Cover with a lid and cook until apples are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash more water if needed.
- In a medium-sized pot, bring oats and water to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add cinnamon, turmeric, and a few grinds of black pepper. See package directions for cook time.
- When oats finish cooking, stir in peanut butter, flaxseed meal, and blueberries (cook a few minutes longer if frozen so oats don’t get cold) then turn off heat. Taste, adding anything more it may need
- Serve, topping with caramelized apples. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/whole-grains-refined-grains-and-dietary-fiber#:~:text=The%20AHA%20recommends%20choosing%20whole,rich%20whole%2Dgrains%20every%20day.
- https://nutritionfacts.org/video/for-flavonoid-benefits-dont-peel-apples/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/apples
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16091428/
- https://www.aicr.org/cancer-prevention/food-facts/apples/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31840162/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6014790/
- https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=apples&product_category=&country=&gi=&gi_filter=&serving_size_(g)=&serving_size_(g)filter=&carbs_per_serve(g)=&carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&gl=&gl_filter=
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5187535/
- https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/blueberries/
