I like simple cooking and I just wanted to send out an EASY recipe for anyone looking for a good, fast breakfast (full of nutrition) to make for the family in the mornings.  This is intended to help out anyone still in the ‘tear open the bag, pour in bowl, cover with hot water’ habit.

(Also, I know the picture’s a little bland… it’s oatmeal -  only gets so colorful, even with the extra cinnamon I sprinkled on top for added oomph.)

ANYWAY, here’s what you do:

1.  Peel and dice an apple (should take about 2 minutes tops, all while your kids watch you to see if you can peel it in one strip)

2.  Get the water boiling (about 1 cup water per 1/2 cup of rolled oats for each serving.)  Add a pinch of salt while you’re at it.

3.  Once it’s boiling, pour in the oats and apples.  Stir over a medium heat about 5 minutes or until it’s not too liquidy and oats are pretty soft. Remove from heat and let it sit a minute or so to thicken up.

4.  Add in cinnamon and maple syrup.  (I don’t measure so I’ll guesstimate for you… start with 1/2 t. of cinnamon and 1 T. of maple syrup.  Then adjust according to your taste.  (Add the syrup a little at a time so as not to overkill it.)

* For an extra health kick, I add in about 1 t. of coconut oil and about 1/2-1 T. of ground flax seed (the golden flax seed hides better ).  Then mix to  camouflage blend it.  You can also add in anything else your heart desires… raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries, sliced almonds…

Then serve it up and enjoy!