Greetings from San Antonio! As I said on my weight loss blog I'm here to host a quick event for HumanaVitality, but while I was packing I made myself a warm, delicious breakfast out of that bag of cranberries I got from the CSA.
Since I also have tons of apples I decided to combine the two again just like in the Cran-Apple smoothie I made last week. There's just something about the combination I love.
I decided on steel cut oats as a base because I had the time to cook them, but I'm sure you can make something similar with old fashioned or even quick. The longer cooking time really gave the apple and cranberries a chance to break down together flavoring the oatmeal in a fun and very pink way!
You'd think the oatmeal, based on color, would be sweet, but the tartness of the cranberries dominated so I drizzled honey on top of the final dish.
I'd rather add the honey at the end than during the cooking process as I tend to use less that way. If I incorporated the honey into the oatmeal I probably would need 3-4 times the amount to bring the sweetness up enough to make it palatable, but when it's on top the honey is the first thing you taste, giving you just the right amount of relief from the tart cranberry flavor.
Oh, and the almonds added that much needed crunch!
I really liked it. It was a warm bowl of fall yumminess.
Here's what I did ...
Ingredients
- ½ cup (55g) fresh cranberries
- 1 small apple (100g Chopped)
- ¼ cup steel-cut oats
- 1 cup water
- ½ tablespoon honey (10g)
- 7g slivered almonds
Instructions
In a small pot, add the cranberries, apple, oats and water.
If you like a much thicker oatmeal, you may want to reduce the water just slightly as the apple and cranberries add moisture as well.
Bring everything to a boil while stirring and mashing the cranberries with a fork until they pop.
Continue to boil for about a minute and then cover and reduce to a simmer.
Now just walk away. Clean the kitchen, check some email, or in my case pack for a short excursion to San Antonio!
The oats will take about 30 minutes to cook, I always check mine at the 20-minute mark, give them a stir and then cook the additional 10 minutes.
Pour the oats into a bowl, drizzle with honey and top with slivered almonds.
It's quite a vibrant dish but fun and seasonal. Oh! and you can totally make this with frozen cranberries.
Hmm, now that i'm thinking about it I bet it would make a good overnight oats recipe as well.
📖 Recipe
Cran-Apple Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup 55g fresh cranberries
- 1 small apple 100g Chopped
- ¼ cup steel-cut oats
- 1 cup water
- ½ tablespoon honey 10g
- 7 g slivered almonds
Instructions
- In a small pot, add the cranberries, apple, oats and water.½ cup 55g fresh cranberries, 1 small apple, ¼ cup steel-cut oats, 1 cup water
- If you like a much thicker oatmeal, you may want to reduce the water just slightly as the apple and cranberries add moisture as well.
- Bring everything to a boil while stirring and mashing the cranberries with a fork until they pop.
- Continue to boil for about a minute and then cover and reduce to a simmer.
- The oats will take about 30 minutes to cook, I always check mine at the 20-minute mark, give them a stir and then cook the additional 10 minutes.
- Pour the oats into a bowl, drizzle with honey and top with slivered almonds.½ tablespoon honey, 7 g slivered almonds
Johnna
What a great idea! I love cranberries!
Paula
Soooo tasty, can't wait to try this recipe 🙂
SuperCutePetContest
That sounds super tasty! I haven't had oatmeal in a while, but this post is really encouraging me to have it again soon. I love the cranberry color of the oatmeal!
Matt at Your Living Body
Yum. That looks simple to do. I'm going to have to give that a try as well.
Christine
I almost bought a bag of cranberries the other day but didn't know what to with them (I'm not the only one who buys things just cuz, right?) Thanks for the brilliant idea! I bet the apple mellows the tartness from the cranberries. Love the color, too!
Decalo Weight Loss
Looks delish.