Posts tagged as:

apples

The Breakfast Challenge – Apple Porridge

by Linda on April 15, 2011

This is porridge to convert non-porridge eaters!

I’m not a huge porridge fan normally.  I know oats are really really good for you – full of fibre, lower bad cholesterol, lots of  B vitamins, good range of minerals, phytochemicals, etc etc.  And the kind of soluble fibre -  beta-glucan – slows both the rise in blood glucose and the fall. So it keeps you feeling not just full but also clear-headed and energetic and not craving a sugar hit at morning tea time.  But I find ordinary porridge just a bit too bland unless you add lots of sweetener which undoes the benefits of the low GI.

Apples are right in season now, just for another month or so, and they’re hugely healthy too, with phytonutrients called polyphenols that protect against a range of diseases. I’ve topped it with pomegranate, just because I had a fresh picked one and it made it look beautiful! And home-made low fat yoghurt, yet another superfood.

It takes just 5 minutes, literally, to make in a pressure cooker, but only 10 minutes or so even in a pot.

(The Breakfast Cereal Challenge is my 2011 challenge – a year’s worth of breakfast recipes that are quick and easy enough to be a real option for weekdays, and that are preferable, in nutrition, ethics, and taste,  to the overpackaged, overpriced, mostly empty packets of junk food marketed as “cereal” .)

The Recipe:

This recipe makes one adult or teenager sized serve. Multiply by as many people as you need.

It’s the little detail bits that really make this.

  • Put ½ cup of plain rolled oats (not quick oats) in a bowl and pour over 1½ cups of boilng water. Let it soak for a minute
  • Dice 1 green apple into small but not tiny dice – about 12 mm.
  • Melt one teaspoon of butter and one teaspoon of honey in a pressure cooker.
  • Add the apple and a pinch of cinnamon, and fry for just a minute stirring just once, till the apple absorbs the butter and the bottom of the pot starts to brown. (You want caramelisation, not stewing).
  • Pour in the soaked oats, and add
    • little pinch of salt
    • little squeeze of lemon juice (a teaspoon or so)
    • a dessertspoon of sultanas (organic ones are worth it)
  • Put the lid on the pressure cooker, bring to pressure, and pressure cook for 2 minutes. Or, in a pot, simmer for 7 or 8 minutes.

Serve with a good dollop of plain yoghurt, and quarter of a pomegranate if you want to be fancy!

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Apple Oat Slice

by Linda on April 6, 2011

Last week of the school term, and it’s been hard finding space for Muesli Bar Challenge recipes in amongst everything else.  But this week is the non-planting week by the lunar calendar, and though I don’t follow it very religiously, it is also a bit too wet for planting (ironically – mostly I complain about it being too hot and dry for planting, but I avoid stepping too much on very wet soil to avoid compacting it).

I have been waiting for apple season to post this recipe.  It is, like all the Muesli Bar Challenge recipes, fast and easy enough to knock up on a weeknight, and low fat,  low sugar, low GI enough to belong in everyday school or work lunch boxes.  Apples are right in season now, and there’s good evidence that the polyphenols in apples (especially in the skin, and missing in the juice) are protective against a big range of diseases, including a heap of different cancers. This recipe also features oats, which are a superfood –  a low calorie,  low GI carbohydrate, with good amounts of B vitamins and several minerals, and a kind of fibre that is really effective at stopping cholesterol being deposited in your arteries.

The Recipe:

Makes 8 slices (You need a shallow baking dish of 8 slice capacity, like a pie dish but preferably square).

Pare or thinly slice 3 green apples.  The wide blade on my grater is a good tool for this, but you could use a mandoline or just a knife.

Put them in a pot with:

  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 dessertspoon sultanas
  • 1 dessertspoon lemon juice
  • Good pinch of  cinnamon
  • Little pinch of cloves

As soon as the apples start cooking they will release juice, so you want just enough water to start them off.  A wet saucepan should be enough.  Cook over a fairly low heat, stirring frequently, for 5 or 10 minutes till they are soft and starting to caramelise.

While they are cooking, in a food processor, blend together:

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup wholemeal self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 40 grams butter
  • 2 dessertspoons honey
  • 4 dessertspoons low fat plain yoghurt

You should end up with a soft biscuit dough.

Take half the dough and press it into the base of a greased baking dish.  It should be about 1.25 cm (half an inch) thick.  Spread the apple mixutre on top of the base.

Put a little flour on your bench and roll the other half of the dough out with a rolling pin to fit on top.  Press it down so that it is touching the apple mix.  Prick decoratively with a fork all over.  You can also sprinkle a teaspoon of raw sugar decoratively on top if you like.

Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes until golden.  (I forgot these and cooked them just a bit too long – they are a little darker than I would like.)

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The Breakfast Challenge – Apple and Peach Breakfast Compote

by Linda on February 10, 2011

This is my current favourite breakfast, and the next in the Breakfast Cereal Challenge. The first of the new season apples have just arrived at our local Farmers Market, coming down from the Tablelands (within our 160 km range as the crow flies), and there are still some late season peaches too, so just for a few weeks the seasons overlap.

Living with stand-alone solar power, you become very aware of what an energy guzzler refrigeration is.  Our little, 60 litre, 12 volt electric fridge is the biggest electricity consuming thing in our household, by a long way.  So I hate to think how much power is consumed, and how much greenhouse gas is created, cold storing apples.

One of the benefits of refusing to buy cold-stored apples is that you stop taking humble apples for granted and really appreciate these  first of the season ones.

Apple season is all over by the end of May in my part of the world.  If you live further south, it probably won’t start till next month and though the season is longer, it won’t last into spring.  Apples cold store reasonably well, but who would choose a cold-stored apple when there are fresh, just picked strawberries instead? And conversely, who would choose strawberries imported from USA and treated with methyl bromide, when you can buy fresh, crisp, sweet new season apples?

The Recipe:

Like all the Breakfast Cereal Challenge recipes, this one is simple, fast and healthy enough for a work and school day mornings.

This quantity is the amount I make for me.  You can double it, but don’t try to do too much at once or the fruit will stew.

Chop an apple and a peach into bite sized pieces.

Heat a little macadamia oil or butter in a heavy pan and saute the chopped fruit, along with a handful of  pepitas, a handful of sunflower seeds, and a handful of raw rolled oats.  Sprinkle over a teaspoon of cinnamon. Cook for just a few minutes, stirring gently occasionally, till the fruit starts to caramelise and the seeds toast.

Serve warm with a good dollop of plain, low fat yoghurt.

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Lumberjack Cupcakes

May 17, 2010

I’ve had a lovely weekend with my Brisbane based sister, sewing and cooking and solving the problems of the family and the world. And as a result, she has taken home a batch of this week’s Muesli Bar Challenge for my 12 year old niece and 7 year old nephew to review this week. Lumberjack [...]

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Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

April 27, 2010

The kids are back at school after the holidays, so it is time to get back into lunch box baking. This is the ninth in my Muesli Bar Challenge series. For those of you who are new to the site, the Challenge is about my bet that it is possible to make lunch box treats [...]

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Apple and Passionfruit Muffins

February 22, 2010

This recipe was my son’s all-time favourite lunch box  baking for all of his high school years.  Unfortunately for him, there is only a small window of opportunity when both apples and passionfruit are in season.  But this is it! The first of the new season Granny Smith apples are just starting to become available [...]

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