Monday, April 15, 2013

Stewed Apple Oatmeal...and my blog's 1st birthday!

Good morning, everybody! One year ago today, I announced on my other blog, Books and Broccoli that I had officially created a blog to host all my oatmeal recipes!

If you look at my recipe archive on this site, they actually go back to December of 2011. These are posts I created on "Books and Broccoli" and transferred over when I created the new site. However, the true birthday of "The Oatmeal Artist" happened on April 15th, 2012. My first post was my beloved Almond Joy Oatmeal, which didn't get posted until the 21st because it was delayed due to my first kidney stone.


For months, I was thrilled by mild success on Pinterest and Finding Vegan. Getting a comment a few times a month was so exciting! Today, a year later, I'm stunned by my blog's audience. Each day, I average between 1,500 - 2,500 page views...even when there's no new post that day! I have 1,700 followers on Pinterest who enthusiastically repin my recipes dozens of times every day. I get at least ten comments a week.

Of course, this is considered pathetic by some blog's standards (I'm no Smitten Kitchen or Chocolate-Covered Katie), but it still saturates me with pride. It would not be a stretch to say this blog is one of my biggest accomplishments and favorite projects. What you guys need to understand is that I am a "starter." I "start" projects, and then abandon them two weeks later. This blog continuously rewards me with satisfaction. Three things motivate me: my desire to eat oatmeal 24/7, my competitive nature (I will be the greatest oatmeal blogger OF ALL TIME!), and your wonderful comments! Compared to the aforementioned bloggers, 10 comments a week may be a small amount, but I treasure each of them as if they were each a $50 bill. The comments are easily my favorite part. Please, my lovely readers, keep commenting!

Well, readers, what's next? I'm happy to let you know that I'm not running out of ideas yet. I still have "The List" on my iPod, and it gets longer every week. I have dozens of ideas for regular stove-top oatmeal, baked oatmeal, toppings for oatmeal, baked goods, overnight oatmeal, and savory oatmeal, and I even have a restaurant review coming your way soon! One year old, still going strong.



And after that lengthy intro...it's time to share another recipe with you. I'll keep the description short since I've already written a novel. You know the cans of apple pie filling? Stewed apples are kind of like that, sans High Fructose Corn Syrup. Traditionally, people cook them with butter, but I said "Poo on that!" and made it with nothing but water and spices. No HFCS. No added sugar. No butter. Triple win.


Stewed Apple Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Ingredients (serves 1)
  • 1 small apple
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
  • 1 cup milk of choice, or water
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp apple pie spice
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Dice apple into 1/2 inch cubes. Dump into saucepan and add 2 tbsp water and apple pie spices. Set to medium low heat.


  2. When water starts to simmer, stir occasionally. Cook until apples have softened, which will take approximately 6-10 minutes. If all the liquid disappears and your apples aren't cooked, add a teensy bit more at a time.
  3. When apple has stewed to the right consistency, dump into another bowl and set aside.
  4. Bring milk (I use 1/2 c almond milk and 1/2 c water) to a boil, add oats, and set heat to medium. (If you'd like to add flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
  5. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, apple pie spices, and salt. Add half of the stewed apples. Stir.
  6. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (nondairy yogurt, coconut oil, dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds), do so now.
  7. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with remaining stewed apples, another splash of your milk of choice, and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).
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Thank you for reading and supporting my blog, and thank you for celebrating my blog's birthday with me!

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

23 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday The Oatmeal Artist! :) I love your blog!

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  2. Congrats on your blog's birthday! Can't express how happy I am that I've found this blog, you're going to keep me busy with oatmeal for a LONG time (which I'm totally fine with!)

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  3. Hey, congrats on the blog's birthday! I've been following along for a little while and I absolutely love all of your recipes. Back in my not-so-healthy days I used to think I hated oatmeal, but now I'm all about it. I also love oat bran. Basically I love oats in any form.

    Also, you inspired me to get creative in the kitchen with oatmeal today, and I came up with my own recipe that was very loosely influenced by a couple of yours. It's green monster banana baked oatmeal and it's REALLY tasty. Let me know if you'd like me to send you the recipe and/or a picture :-)

    Keep up the great work!

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    Replies
    1. I'd love to see it! I should do green monster oatmeals more often, but they're SO creepy looking! I'm always afraid it will turn people away from the blog! haha

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  4. Congrats on your blog birthday ヾ(@^∇^@)ノ

    You don't even know how much I would like to thank you. I think one of my life goal now is to try every of your recipes? I'm pretty good now. Since I've discovered your blog last September or so, I've been eating oatmeal e.v.e.r.y day. I couldn't love it more!! And your recipes are so amazing.

    Keep the good work so your oatmeal can make me happy every morning ♥♥

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    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh, you're the sweetest. I never imagined I'd have support like this!

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  5. Happy birthday! Thanks to you my morning oatmeal has become far more creative and delicious!

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  6. Congrats on your blogoversary! Love your oatmeal posts - you have so much variety!

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  7. Happy blog birthday! I've been reading for months and love your recipes. :) Here's to another year of oatmeal!

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  8. Congrats on 1 year!! Your recipes are the best. Before you, breakfast was my most boring meal - corn flakes everyday *shudder*

    Now breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! I never thought I'd be able to stomach oatmeal in any form other than the instant packets *shudder (again)* All in all thanks for making oatmeal cool! (:

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    Replies
    1. I cannot thank you enough for your endless support and regular comments. Your words always make me smile! Thanks for your lovely comment!

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  9. Almost forgot! This oatmeal looks delicious and I can't wait to make it this weekend, when I have enough time to cook the apples as well as the oats (:

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  10. So my original post didn't post but I still want to express how happy I am with your blog so I'll write it out all over again! Since you love comments, I am here to say that I have been searching online for ways to top my oatmeal (one of my favorite things to eat :) ) for a long time now. Once I stumbled onto your blog, it was an instant gold mine for me. Granted, I modify all the recipes I get from here, but your inspirations are AMAZING!! and I have NEVER been disappointed with using a recipe I have gotten from you. I get so excited when I get an email from you with a new post!! so please keep it up :) Again, this blog is so perfect for what I was looking for and I hope you keep it up for as long as you possibly can! Thank you and happy belated bday!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am so glad to have an impact and you and so many others! Keep eating the oats! :)

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  11. You inspire me to get in the kitchen and play around with some of my favorite flavors both sweet and savory. look foward to another year of recipes. Julie

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  12. Hey Lauren, first of all Happy B'day to your blog :-) Never heard of a blog dedicated to anything 'oats' and it is totally inspiring.

    Loved all the posts I went through. WIll be back again.

    Luv,
    Manju

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    Replies
    1. So happy to hear you're a fan! Thanks for your comment.

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  13. 3 Researches SHOW How Coconut Oil Kills Belly Fat.

    This means that you actually kill fat by eating Coconut Fats (in addition to coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 studies from large medical journals are sure to turn the conventional nutrition world upside down!

    ReplyDelete

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