1st step: apple oat porridge for a quiet morning starter
I have been cooking oat porridge with apples in most of the countries, in most of the couches I surfed and most of the time the people got to cooking apples as well after I left. And the only thing I forgot to do was to hand out this the easiest apple-oat recipe to my blog! And you know I LOVE apples and oats ;D
As the days in Finland get darker and my time in India runs short I dedicate this recipe to all of the visitors and friends in my life to help yourself to cook a simple dish to calm your body and mind.
Breakfast for one person:
Cooking apples
You’ll need 1 apple, teaspoon of cinnamon and tablespoon of ghee.
Wash and chop the apple in nice slices. Heat a pan and add ghee or butter and spread apple slices nicely on the pan and fry about 5 min each side in low heat and add cinnamon in between. Leave them under a lift to keep warm for the porridge.
Boiling the porridge
You’ll need 1/3 cups of brown oats, 1 cup of water, and hint of salt, few almonds and baby handful of raisins, 2 tablespoon of ghee, couple cardamoms and teaspoon of cinnamon.
First dry roast the oats for couple minutes in a big pan, add ghee and toss for couple more minutes. Then add water, raisins, almonds and cinnamon and boil in a low heat about 5 minutes.
Serve warm with apples on top and decorate with a teaspoon of cranberry powder, which is an excellent source of C vitamin, improves your vitality and is well known and used in Finland, thus suitable for a Finnish body =)
The health benefits
Cinnamon has medicinal value, works well with several diseases like type 2 diabetes. When added to food, it inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage, making it a natural food preservative.
Cardamom has many vitamins and minerals and is a mild cooling digestive and good for purifying the mouth and the body.
Ghee is clarified butter, which means some of the fat has taken away and thus it is good against cholesterol, easier to digest and good for lubricating your skin internally and externally.
Apple has antioxidants; the peal has pectin that can help remove toxic. Eating an apple a day can lower cholesterol and reduce skin diseases. Good for digestion, liver, and against kidney stones.
Brown oats are cooling and strengthening though they have a little bit of gluten. Good source of fiber, good for general health, blood pressure, cholesterol and heart. (To be avoided if you have severe gluten allergy.)
While in India I use amla, another even better source of C vitamin instead of cranberries. It improves the digestive system which is the base of a healthy body and mind. It is also used as an ayurvedic medicine (for example improving eyesight).
2nd step: oat facial mask after a hectic day
After a hectic day of working or a fun day of shopping Christmas presents you might want to have few minutes for yourself to relieve tension and have a glowing face ready for relaxing evening or for a little X-mas party with your friends. Or you can even start the party with this messy mask! Make it fun for all!
For one person you’ll need 1/4 cup of any kind of oatmeal, 1/4 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of honey. Or in case you boiled too much oats for breakfast, do not be afraid to waste it to your face!
If possible ground the oats and boil them into a gooey mask and stir in 2 teaspoons of honey. Honey is an excellent treatment for acne. It removes bacteria that accumulates on your skin.
In Finland we have this saying: cold porridge makes you beautiful! And I have this thought, that whatever you apply on your skin should be good enough to be eaten! Unfortunately some people eat things I would not even apply externally.
3rd step: make your loved ones happy
And put a simple apple cake recipe along with some apples in a handmade gift bag under a Christmas three on a Christmas Eve.
Now you are ready for a healthier, tastier Christmas!
With Love from India
