Core and coarsely chop the apple, leaving the skins on.
Stir fry. Add apple chunks to a small saucepan with heated coconut oil; add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir fry until the apples start to caramelize. (you can skip this step to save 3 minutes and jump directly into the next step). You don't need oil, but you can add a tablespoon of coconut oil if you want the apples to have a sharp golden brown tone. Remove from heat.
Boil. Add the oats, water, and plant milk to the same saucepan and boil (electric stove on 8), stirring occasionally. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt—about 5 minutes.Bring down to a gentle simmer (5 on an electric stove), and add half of the stir-fried apples. Then add the optional ingredients such as nutmeg flax meal, or chia seeds—about 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and top with optional maple syrup, shredded coconut, and blueberries; stir it and serve in small bowls.
Let the oatmeal rest for 3 minutes before eating it.
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Notes
Plant milk: any milk works for this recipe. We like using soy milk to increase the protein content of our breakfast.
Spices: play with your spices. You can use only cinnamon, but we like adding cardamom, nutmeg, and ground cloves. The more spices, the more zero-calorie nutrients and minerals you get.
We like keeping the spices to a maximum of ¼ teaspoon per serving.
Fruits and nuts: add dried fruits while the oatmeal is cooking and fresh fruit when the cooking is over.
Sweeteners: use any kind of sweeter or a mix of two. i.e., 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.
Seeds: they are not necessary, but we like adding them to add antioxidants and Omega 3 healthy oils and protein to our breakfast.