Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (With a TCM Twist!)

This apple cinnamon oatmeal recipe has familiar, comforting flavors, but also some special ingredients that make it tastier and healthier! I took some ingredients from the TCM manual: Chinese red dates, goji berries, Chinese brown sugar and walnuts.

It came in handy during the postpartum period when I was looking for something hot, quick and filling for breakfast. I found myself making it ahead of time for future breakfasts and feeling completely nourished after each bowl!

What do I mean by “MTC twist”

TCM, or traditional Chinese medicine, often uses food to help heal the body. Even though we are not TCM experts or doctors, we have knowledge passed down from older generations.

As I've gotten older (I'm staring at 34 this year), I've started to take more seriously all the “old wives” stories, advice, and pointers that my mother and grandmother have shared over the years!

(That is, I went from completely ignoring it during my childhood and adolescence to faithfully adhering to rules such as: not going to bed with wet hair, wearing socks or slippers indoors, avoiding bare feet, especially in colder months and drink ginger tea when I feel a cold coming on.)

So when I recently had a baby and went through my 1-month postpartum confinement, I knew I didn't exactly have to scarf down bacon and eggs every morning.

Let me pause here to tell you that I am generally NOT a fan of oatmeal. It was never my favorite, and every time I ate it, I wondered why I, or anyone else, bothered with such boring food.

But damn, after I had Ethan, I wanted that stuff! I think I was just looking for something hot and steamy and maybe just a little sweet to coat my insides after what turned out to be a stressful emergency c-section (and shivers – no one told me how many shivers there would be).

ANYWAY, I decided to go with the most classic of oatmeal combinations: apples and cinnamon. I also added:

Chinese red dates: sweet and delicious, but also to heal, build blood and reduce fatigue (trust me… I was very tired.)
Goji berries: an antioxidant-rich superfood that is gaining increasing popularity in the West and used in Chinese cuisine to aid circulation and strengthen the immune system
Nuts: to expel colds and, in regular nutritional terms, provide healthy fats and proteins
Chinese Black Sugar: to warm the body.

Ingredients for Special Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with TCM Ingredients

Additionally, cinnamon is believed to warm the body and promote circulation! Oats are also a warming ingredient.

Do you sense a pattern here? All of the ingredients in this oatmeal were basically designed to help take my cold, depleted body and warm it up!

Just a good breakfast

Other than that, this is just a tasty, healthy bowl of hot oatmeal, and it's easy to start. I always felt a little better after eating it in the morning, and despite my previous aversion to oatmeal, I found myself really enjoying it!

There's a lot of flavor here, from cinnamon, nutmeg, dried fruit, apples, vanilla, and Chinese black sugar (you can also use brown sugar, if you can't find Chinese brown sugar).

Cut an apple into cubes on a white plate

From there, you can add additional flavors:

One of my favorite additions was a dollop of plain yogurt for creaminess.
A dab of peanut or almond butter isn't bad either.
If you want 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 might not scream The works of life. But it played such a big role in my life for a month that I had to document it here.

Whether you're recovering from something, trying to make breakfast time a little healthier, or you're a die-hard oatmeal fan who can't understand the shade I just threw, this recipe is for you !

NOTE:

When I blogged this recipe, Kaitlin commented that it looked like there was more fruit in my bowl than oats.

I guess he's right. This is the relationship I like. But if you want more oats in your meal, you can increase the oats by ½ cup and increase the water to 3 1/2 cups.

You may need an extra tablespoon of sugar and maybe another pinch of cinnamon to even it out. Simply follow your instincts in the kitchen and customize this recipe.

Sarah's Special Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon: Recipe Instructions

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Immediately add the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, dates, goji berries and apples. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

ingredients for apple cinnamon oatmeal in pot

apples, oats, dates, goji berries, sugar, water in the pot

Uncover the pot and add the Chinese sugar and vanilla.

stirring the brown sugar into the apple cinnamon oatmeal

Cover once more 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 add more water if needed.)

Sprinkle with walnuts and, if desired, garnish with any optional ingredients. Serve!