Slow Cooked Oats in Apple Juice

Oats are a super healthy food. They are so versatile, and can be used to make a myriad of creations.

The two ways I usually make oats are:

1. A cold oat bowl:
   This is great for Summer. I soak my oats for a few hour in a plant-based milk, like coconut milk or cashew milk. Then I add whatever flavor combination I feel like at the time, like cinnamon, banana and honey, or I go tropical by topping the bowl with pineapple, passion-fruit, mango and toasted coconut. Sometimes if I'm wanting more, I'll add in chia seeds, LSA, cashews or almonds.
2. A hot oat bowl:
   This is better in winter. I cook my oats in water, in the microwave, as per the instructions on the oats. I mix up the extras by adding them pre-cooking, so the extras cook with the oats. For example, I add sultanas and cinnamon, and the sultanas become soft and add texture to the oats. Or I mix through cacao and rice malt syrup, so the oats become like a chocolate pudding. Or I even fresh strawberries, so the strawberries stew threw the oats as the oats cook. 

The possibility with oats are endless. However, I had never considered cooking my oats in the slow cooker, let alone cooking them in apple juice. 

That was until, this recipe was suggested by one of my work colleagues. Our team was discussing how they use their slow cooker. 

"I use my slow cooker to cook my oats in apple juice",  she said.
My mind was blown!
"You can also add nuts to make it a healthy apple crumble", she suggested.
Brilliant! I had to try this.

Instead of adding nuts, I decided to toast some oats by dry frying, the way I would usually toast my nuts before chucking them into a salad. I can imagine toasting them in the oven would also work.

I was a bit naughty, adding brown sugar and cinnamon too. I didn't know if dry frying them would work. However, I was glad I tried it, because the result was awesome. The brown sugar must have caramelized because it stuck all over the oats, and the oats had a lovely crunch to them.

Ingredients

1 & 1/3 cup of oats
3 & 1/3 cup of 100% apple juice

An extra 1/4 cup oats
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Put the oats and apple juice in the slow cooker.
Leave the slow cooker on high, if you're wanting your oats faster, or low if you want them to cook over a longer period of time (eg overnight).
The oats are cooked when they are no longer super liquidy and the oats absorbed all of the apple juice.
If they become too gluggy, you've probably left them on too long.
I cooked mine for 2 hours on high, and they were perfect.

When the oats are ready, put the extra oats, sugar and cinnamon in a small non-stick fry pan.
Keep shaking the pan over the heat until they look toasty.
Sprinkle the extra oats over your bowl of apple oats to add crunch and texture.