Warming and hearty Stewed Apples and Coconut Quinoa

This warming Healthy Stewed Apples and Coconut Quinoa Recipe takes me back to special moments spent with my gran. Famous for her “signature dish’, we always knew what to expect when we would make our way up to the Blue Mountains in Australia. Without fail, we would start our mornings with brown rice, stewed apples and brown sugar.

My gran was a coeliac most of her life, she introduced me to the alternatives of gluten from quite a young age. For good reason as well, I found out a few years ago that I also have the coeliac gene. I have built up a pretty horrific intolerance to gluten so I steer clear of it completely. I have made a few changes to this dish. I removed the brown sugar and have added in things like ginger, turmeric, hemp seeds and upping the cinnamon to create a beautifully nourishing breakfast. It not only helps keep me full, but has what I like to call “the powerhouse” of immune boosting ingredients.

Note: If you don’t have all ingredients lying around your house, the dish works beautifully with just apples, cinnamon, quinoa and coconut milk. The more spices you add, the more flavoursome.

Cinnamon: Is a powerful spice that has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties. Renowned for its protective antioxidant levels, cinnamon comes from the bark of the Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) tree. I tend to go a little heavy with my cinnamon, primarily because I love the taste of it, but also because I am always after a bit of a antioxidant boost.

Apples: have a high content of flavonoids which are a type of antioxidant (another yes!) which helps reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, and chronic conditions. They are also other benefits like being high in Vitamin C and a good source of fibre (tip: never peel an apple as the skin has lots of nutrients!)