Apple Cinnamon Porridge

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A little fact about me is that I am a creature of habit. And, for about the better part of two decades I had oatmeal every. single. day. I would cook it slowly in whole milk, tons of white sugar, lots of butter, cinnamon, and a drizzle of cream on top. I have a sweet friend who loved to host and entertain. She was a french pastry chef and an amazing mom. The first time she had me over was for breakfast, since it's my favorite meal ever. When she asked what I wanted I told her oatmeal was my favorite food. She tried to convince me to make another choice, but I really just wanted to be easy and not make her work too hard. When I arrived, she had a little table set up like a fancy tea party, with a tiered pastry platter full of fruit and homemade scones, her kids were our servers, and the oatmeal she made was spectacular! It was steel cut oats, and on top was a layer of sliced bananas beautifully arranged, topped with another layer of blackberries, slivered almonds, and sprinkled with a torched sugar topping that I had to break with my spoon! We had personal tiny pitchers of cream to drizzle over the top. I still dream of that bowl of oatmeal, it was literally the best! 

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I have tried all grains, all cuts, with all kinds of toppings. There wasn't a bowl of oatmeal I didn't love. Ok, that's not true... hotel or cafeteria oatmeal is pretty bad. But I digress, now that I am no longer eating grains in my diet, and specifically have an intolerance to oats, there is no more oatmeal for this lady! I have been on the hunt for a good grain-free replacement and found quite a few great ones from Kate of Healing Family Eats, an Auto Immune Paleo blog. I put my own spin on one of her recipes and came up with this one I want to share with you today. 

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The recipe that inspired me was the Roasted Cinnamon Pear "Oatmeal". It is SO GOOD just the way it is... but I adjusted it to fit my nutritional needs. I subbed the pears for apples, and skipped the roasting part because I just didn't have time one day and decided it was so good I was never turning back. I also add a tablespoon or two of sunflower seed butter (which is NOT AIP), a couple of pasture raised egg yolks and collagen for added protein. Roasting your spaghetti squash ahead of time, so you can just grab it from the fridge and scoop out the ribbons, will save you about 30 minutes of cooking time. 

This recipe is so good, it's on regular rotation at our house, we make it probably twice a week. We love to add fresh fruit, grain-free granola, crispy seeds or nuts, whatever we have on hand! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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Apple Cinnamon Porridge

makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1/2 roasted spaghetti squash

2 organic apples of choice (we like Gala apples), roughly chopped

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1-2 tbsp sunflower seed butter (no sugar added)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 pasture-raised egg yolks

1 tbsp grass-fed beef collagen

2 tsp ground flax seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut a whole spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place spaghetti squash cut side down on the parchment lined baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until tender when poked with a fork

In a medium pot over medium heat, scoop flesh of spaghetti squash into pot with the apples, coconut milk, sunflower seed butter, and cinnamon

Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until apples are tender

With an immersion blender, pulse until slightly smooth with small chunks of apples remaining

Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl, and temper with warm porridge. Slowly adding warm porridge into egg yolk, while simultaneously whisking egg yolks

Slowly add tempered eggs to hot porridge, stirring continuously

Add collagen

Continue to stir until thickened

Remove from heat and add ground flax seeds