Good old Porridge!

Ingredients

For 1 generous serving 

• ½ cup of oats, 
  
  
• 1 cup of oat milk 
  
  
• 2 cups of water.
  
  
• 1 heaped tsp coconut oil (optional but highly recommended)
  
  

To Serve

• sliced bananas, berries, grated apple, goji berries (dried), cranberries
  
  

• walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, brazil nuts
  
  
• sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, ground flaxseeds/linseeds
  
  
• toasted coconut flakes
  
  
• manuka honey, brown rice syrup
  
  
• cinnamon
  
  

Linwoods do a few mixtures of seeds and nuts which is useful if you don’t want to buy them all individually. Lidl also do a few good value mixtures with no added sugar!

Method

Put the oats, milk and water in a pot, bring to the boil, give it a good stir then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. I usually go for a shower leaving the porridge simmering on low heat. Then add a good spoonful of coconut oil to boost your metabolism and add your preferred toppings from the list. Serve with oat or almond milk.

If you are short of time in the mornings then try this overnight method instead. 

Bring to the boil 2 cups of water and one cup of oat milk in a small pot, add ½ cup of oats, simmer for a minute then turn off the heat and put the lid on. Leave overnight.

In the morning, just simmer gently for 5 minutes, add coconut oil and serve with chosen toppings!

Porridge
 
This is my absolute favourite winter breakfast, so versatile, filling and nutritious. It absolutely ticks all the boxes and supports every system in your body. Your bowels will be regular as clockwork, your immune system will be strengthened, your brain will get a good kick start with all the omega 3 fatty acids from the nuts and seeds, your metabolism will be boosted by the coconut oil, you will have lots of energy and you will be full until lunchtime!

I prefer the texture of Pinhead oatmeal for my morning porridge so I use that but you can use normal porridge oats if you prefer, just don’t use the sachets of instant porridge, they are full of refined sugar! I use Oatly organic oat milk which is full of soluble fibre and can help to lower cholesterol. Hemp milk and almond milk are also good alternatives. Most supermarkets stock a good range of non dairy milks.

If you use dairy milk you will be adding cholesterol, saturated fat, antibiotic residues and a good dose of hormones, which your body most definitely does not need!

If you need any more reasons to start eating porridge then check out this recent research at Harvard University here which proved that eating porridge regularly could be the key to a long and healthy life!

The possibilities are endless so get creative with your morning porridge and leave me a comment if you come up with any winning combos!