Apple-Walnut Oatmeal

As a kid, I was a picky eater and sat with a plate of food for an hour everyday, just picking and playing with it.  It is funny that whenever we see a kid who is a picky eater, we do not understand why they are making such a big fuss. I think to myself, “It’s food..it is fun!! I wish I could eat and snack all day without feeling guilty or slapping on a thousand pounds!”As adults, we forget that when we were kids we were no different.

We question why our kids have to be fussy but we forget the pain our parents went through in trying to feed us everyday. My mother like any Indian mother was a milk tyrant and forced down warm milk in me every morning in the hopes that I would get taller and stronger. There were days I bought into her milk propoganda but most days I peacefully protested by avoiding drinking the glass of milk for about an hour.  I would watch the clock hoping that the glass would miraculously disappear but soon realized that my protests had ZERO effect on her and that they were just eating into my playing or napping time.  I would close my eyes, take a deep breath, hold my nose, and chug the whole thing. This milk-boarding process would repeat twice everyday. My parents tried everything to make the taste of buffalo milk more appealing to me – adding roohafza, chocolate powders, into the milk but nothing worked. I wish that I had grown up in America where I could have choked down the milk with double stuffed Oreos.

It is interesting that as adults we often grow to love food that we hated as kids. Of course, due to the emotional trauma that I went through with my relationship with milk, I would still never drink it but I now eat lots of vegetables like squash, cauliflower, peas that I absolutely abhorred as a kid.  I wonder if our kids will cause headaches for us or if they will be as oatmeal loving and kale happy as we are.

YIELD: Serves 2

TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rolled oats (not quick)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 1.5 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 whole apple, diced
• 3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/8 cup Coconut flakes, toasted (optional)
• Honey drizzle (to serve)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Boil water in a saucepan. Stir in oatmeal on med heat.
• In a saute pan, heat coconut oil. Add walnuts. Toast them for 1.5 minutes on med heat and then, add the diced apple.
• Add brown sugar. Continue to stir and cook for about 4 mins until the apples look golden brown and caramelized.
• Add coconut milk in oatmeal. Check for doneness. Oatmeal should take about 10 mins to cook and it should be creamy when it is done. If it is not cooked and is sticking to the bottom, add more coconut milk or water.
• To serve, put oatmeal in a bowl, top with toasted coconut flakes and drizzle of honey.