Seasonal breakfast porridge
Yes, I am going to blog about oatmeal.
I realize that oatmeal is not the most exciting of foods. But from the reaction of friends who eat breakfast at our house, it seems that it might be to some. So let's talk porridge...
It's warm, it's cheap, it's filling and it can be really yummy. If you are like me, you grew up on cold cereal for breakfasts. These cereals are not only expensive, they are nutritional wastelands. The ones that are topping the FDA charts just have synthetic vitamins sprayed on them in double doses... YUCK! Why not try some real food for breakfast and save a few bucks?
For our family, the default breakfast during the colder months is oatmeal (US) or porridge (UK) interrupted a few times per week with eggs. From the reaction I get from visitors, I think we make ours differently than others. We probably add more stuff... knowing me. Oatmeal, you see, just seems like a perfect medium to put all sorts of good-for-you things. Kind of like a smoothie. No, I don't put kale in my morning cereal, but you're not far off. Mostly I like fresh and dried fruit. In the fall, I like apples and cinnamon. Later, pears. In the summertime, fresh peaches rock my world. But there are other things too.
As far as things to make it taste GOOD, we like dried fruit (raisins or sultanas are our favorite) and fresh fruit. We have apple trees, so from late September through February (at least) it is cinnamon-apple. But I think the WAY we make it matters too. I grate the apple into the cereal, which gives it a really nice texture and spreads the sweet apple juice all over. I also use a whole cinnamon stick (or half of one) instead of powder. It just gives a better flavor, I think, and someone gets to win the cinnamon stick in their bowl.
While this apple-cinnamon number is yummy, nothing compares to porridge made with fresh peaches. OMG, IT IS LIKE EATING SUNSHINE FOR BREAKFAST! I like to add a little bit of shredded coconut and some raisins too.
Now, those of you who know me as a nutritionist, you know I'm a real stickler for balancing blood sugar. And the way I do it is making sure you get 3 things in every meal: Fiber, Fat and Protein. And enough of each. Most breakfasts like cold cereal, skim milk and juice or coffee are just pure sugar. I know, you're freaking out because a nutritionist just told you to ADD FAT to your breakfast. But trust me dieters, this is how you lose weight. A bit of fat keeps you full so you don't keep on snacking on biscuits all day long. So... Fiber! The rolled oats are loaded with it, as is the fruit you add, and maybe those ground flax you stir in at the end. For protein you can cook it in some milk, add yogurt at the end and/or add an egg while cooking. You can also top it with some walnuts. Most of the healthy fats come along with the protein foods (nuts, seeds, egg and dairy... as long as you're not still suffering through skim milk... tell me you're not still buying skim milk).
The other bits I add have no impact on flavor, but added in small amounts on a daily basis adds up to a lot. Super foods like dulse, kelp powder, bee pollen, ground flax seeds. I will write more about sea vegetables later. But they are such an easy way to add really nutrient dense foods to your family's diet... they should not be overlooked.
SOAK IT!! Before you go to bed at night, get it started. Measure out your oats into your pan. I do about 1/2 cup per person in our family. But when Steve and I were doing a lot more yoga and cycling, we ate much larger portions... so adjust as you need. Add the oats, a teaspoon of dulse, pinch of kelp and a bit of whey. What is whey and why am I adding this? Well, you know your yogurt? When you've dipped into it and some liquid has filled in the hole a few hours later? This is whey... the liquid portion of the yogurt, and it's full of lactic acid. Any acidic liquid will do (could use OJ or pineapple juice, really). I add a few tablespoons or more of it, then enough water to make it like thick soup. The acid helps to liberate the minerals from the whole grain and make it more digestible. I'll write more about that later... or you can look up phytic acid on google if you're a bit of a curious cat. (Man, don't you just love this hyperlink thing? What did we ever do without it?)
Anyway, let this sit overnight on the counter. In the morning, put it over medium heat. Add your fruit... grated apple and raisins, some milk, an egg... whatever you are adding. See the picture below of the apples? Just slice the apple in half, use your paring knife to cut out the core and stem, and put the flat part on the grater and go. Add enough extra water to make it a little soupy, bring to a gentle boil, turn down to low and cover. Cook it for 15-30 minutes. I won't give you precise measurements or times, because you can adjust it according to your taste.
Now after it has cooked, you can add a few other things. Some people like to dish it up as it is, then serve a jug of cream, dish of brown sugar, walunts, etc on the side. This is too much for me to do in the morning and I feel like the fewer choices for my kids, the better. We have a weekday version and a weekend version.
Weekdays, we add yogurt and honey. For my 4 people, I do 4 rounded tablespoons of natural yogurt and one bit spoonful of honey. Then I add a 1/2 teaspoon bee pollen and couple tablespoons of flax seeds and stir it all up. On weekends, I change out my yogurt and honey for sugar and cream. I like that dark muscavado sugar in the first picture above. You can do what you like. And I always make more porridge on weekends. I think because nobody is in a hurry and the porridge is sweeter, everyone eats more. Below is what it looks like when it is done cooking and I've added the yogurt and honey.
Now this is where I show you my children eating the food I make so you know it's good. I can assure you that my children would never eat and smile about any food... even for my blog... if it wasn't good. They would whine and complain and, well, you know. Here is Rowan before school. Small bites honey!
So here is my recipe for oatmeal... I really hope you try it and like it. It's such a great alternative to cold cereal... especially for kids. And if you're like our family, everyone needs to eat breakfast at a different time. I can dish up for Rowan at 6:45, and with the lid on, it stays plenty warm enough to serve to Steve at 7:30 and Amelia and I after 8am.
For babies: You can serve this to your children after they are eating gluten grains. Most people start grains like this around 10-12 months of age. But be sure not to use honey until your child is over one year of age because of the risk of botulism. I think you can leave out all the sweeteners for at least that long. Might want to omit the egg white until 1 year old too. Just put everything else in, dish up for baby, then add some honey for everyone else.
The night before:
Combine all the ingredients in a 3 quart saucepan. Put a lid on to keep the critters out and leave on the counter overnight.
In the morning: (all ingredients are optional, really, except for maybe a little more water)
Add all ingredients to pot. Put on medium-high heat and check/stir every 3-5 minutes until it comes to a gentle boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15-30 minutes (take a shower or do some yoga). Longer makes it stickier and thicker.
Turn off heat and add (again, this is all optional and can be offered on the side, or stirred in to the whole pot)
Stir it all up and dish up.
Other serving ideas:
I realize that oatmeal is not the most exciting of foods. But from the reaction of friends who eat breakfast at our house, it seems that it might be to some. So let's talk porridge...
It's warm, it's cheap, it's filling and it can be really yummy. If you are like me, you grew up on cold cereal for breakfasts. These cereals are not only expensive, they are nutritional wastelands. The ones that are topping the FDA charts just have synthetic vitamins sprayed on them in double doses... YUCK! Why not try some real food for breakfast and save a few bucks?
For our family, the default breakfast during the colder months is oatmeal (US) or porridge (UK) interrupted a few times per week with eggs. From the reaction I get from visitors, I think we make ours differently than others. We probably add more stuff... knowing me. Oatmeal, you see, just seems like a perfect medium to put all sorts of good-for-you things. Kind of like a smoothie. No, I don't put kale in my morning cereal, but you're not far off. Mostly I like fresh and dried fruit. In the fall, I like apples and cinnamon. Later, pears. In the summertime, fresh peaches rock my world. But there are other things too.
 |
| Cinnamon sticks, raisins, dark molasses sugar, ground flax seeds |
Now, those of you who know me as a nutritionist, you know I'm a real stickler for balancing blood sugar. And the way I do it is making sure you get 3 things in every meal: Fiber, Fat and Protein. And enough of each. Most breakfasts like cold cereal, skim milk and juice or coffee are just pure sugar. I know, you're freaking out because a nutritionist just told you to ADD FAT to your breakfast. But trust me dieters, this is how you lose weight. A bit of fat keeps you full so you don't keep on snacking on biscuits all day long. So... Fiber! The rolled oats are loaded with it, as is the fruit you add, and maybe those ground flax you stir in at the end. For protein you can cook it in some milk, add yogurt at the end and/or add an egg while cooking. You can also top it with some walnuts. Most of the healthy fats come along with the protein foods (nuts, seeds, egg and dairy... as long as you're not still suffering through skim milk... tell me you're not still buying skim milk).
 |
| Dulse is rich in minerals... especially iron. |
Dulse: Dulse is a red sea algae that like other sea vegetables is rich in minerals and other trace elements we need. But it is known for being particularly high in iron. I got in the habit of using it when I was pregnant and then adding it to the foods I was cooking for my babies. I figure adding a pinch of it here and there was a tasty way to make sure we all got a good dose of those minerals every day.
Kelp: So this is another sea vegetable. You can get it powdered and use it like salt. This is also rich in iodine as well as all those other minerals. Just a pinch here and there.
Ground Flax seed (linseed): I grind a bit of this each week to sprinkle on our cereal. High in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, it's just another tasty nutrition heavy-hitter.
So this is how I make it...
SOAK IT!! Before you go to bed at night, get it started. Measure out your oats into your pan. I do about 1/2 cup per person in our family. But when Steve and I were doing a lot more yoga and cycling, we ate much larger portions... so adjust as you need. Add the oats, a teaspoon of dulse, pinch of kelp and a bit of whey. What is whey and why am I adding this? Well, you know your yogurt? When you've dipped into it and some liquid has filled in the hole a few hours later? This is whey... the liquid portion of the yogurt, and it's full of lactic acid. Any acidic liquid will do (could use OJ or pineapple juice, really). I add a few tablespoons or more of it, then enough water to make it like thick soup. The acid helps to liberate the minerals from the whole grain and make it more digestible. I'll write more about that later... or you can look up phytic acid on google if you're a bit of a curious cat. (Man, don't you just love this hyperlink thing? What did we ever do without it?)
Anyway, let this sit overnight on the counter. In the morning, put it over medium heat. Add your fruit... grated apple and raisins, some milk, an egg... whatever you are adding. See the picture below of the apples? Just slice the apple in half, use your paring knife to cut out the core and stem, and put the flat part on the grater and go. Add enough extra water to make it a little soupy, bring to a gentle boil, turn down to low and cover. Cook it for 15-30 minutes. I won't give you precise measurements or times, because you can adjust it according to your taste.
 |
Apples are grated into the oatmeal for a nice texture |
Now after it has cooked, you can add a few other things. Some people like to dish it up as it is, then serve a jug of cream, dish of brown sugar, walunts, etc on the side. This is too much for me to do in the morning and I feel like the fewer choices for my kids, the better. We have a weekday version and a weekend version.
Weekdays, we add yogurt and honey. For my 4 people, I do 4 rounded tablespoons of natural yogurt and one bit spoonful of honey. Then I add a 1/2 teaspoon bee pollen and couple tablespoons of flax seeds and stir it all up. On weekends, I change out my yogurt and honey for sugar and cream. I like that dark muscavado sugar in the first picture above. You can do what you like. And I always make more porridge on weekends. I think because nobody is in a hurry and the porridge is sweeter, everyone eats more. Below is what it looks like when it is done cooking and I've added the yogurt and honey.
 |
| Those are my zinneas from the garden. Don't they make great cut flowers? I love them! |
We have a winner! (Isn't he growing up into a handsome little guy?)
For babies: You can serve this to your children after they are eating gluten grains. Most people start grains like this around 10-12 months of age. But be sure not to use honey until your child is over one year of age because of the risk of botulism. I think you can leave out all the sweeteners for at least that long. Might want to omit the egg white until 1 year old too. Just put everything else in, dish up for baby, then add some honey for everyone else.
Seasonal Porridge with apples and cinnamon
(for 2 adults and 2 kids)
The night before:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 tsp dulse (optional)
- pinch kelp (optional)
- 2+ Tablespoons whey or other acidic juice like OJ or pineapple juice)
- enough water to make it soupy
Combine all the ingredients in a 3 quart saucepan. Put a lid on to keep the critters out and leave on the counter overnight.
In the morning: (all ingredients are optional, really, except for maybe a little more water)
- 1/2-1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2-1 apple, grated
- extra water, as needed
Add all ingredients to pot. Put on medium-high heat and check/stir every 3-5 minutes until it comes to a gentle boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15-30 minutes (take a shower or do some yoga). Longer makes it stickier and thicker.
Turn off heat and add (again, this is all optional and can be offered on the side, or stirred in to the whole pot)
- 2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 4 Tablespoons natural yogurt (if using sweetened yogurt, omit honey)
Stir it all up and dish up.
Other serving ideas:
- Sugar and cream day: Substitute dark brown sugar and cream for honey and yogurt
- Summer peach porridge: Omit apples and cinnamon and add fresh sliced peaches and a handful of coconut.
- Banana and pear is good too.