One of the best things about cold weather has to be porridge for breakfast. These healthy recipes will turbo charge your taste buds and keep you going till lunch. Goldilocks would be proud.
It’s low in calories, high in fibre and protein, digests slowly so you feel full for longer, and it tastes fit! We’re a little bit obsessed with porridge. We love adding different fruit, jazzing it up with swanky milks and spices and experimenting with unusual ingredients like dark chilli chocolate (sooo good). Emma, being Scottish, also likes hers with salt. It was only when we added whiskey that we thought it might be time to get our inspiration elsewhere, so we asked food bloggers, café owners and L&L readers for their favourite healthy recipes, and here they are. Enjoy!
Raspberry and Almond Porridge
Why we love it: raspberries are full of antioxidants, almonds are rich in vitamin E – put them together and they taste a bit like Bakewell tart.
Reader recipe: Lovely reader Sarah regularly joins in with our early morning breakfast-related tweets, so we had to ask her for a recipe. #porridgeporn
“Porridge is a breakfast staple for me. It’s so easy to bung in the microwave while I wake up my brain. Generally I’ll keep things simple but if I’m feeling fancy, I ring the changes with my almond and raspberry porridge recipe.”
Ingredients
A handful of raspberries
50g porridge oats
200ml of almond milk
Cinnamon
Almonds to garnish
How to make
I tend to use frozen raspberries because they’re really good value but you could use fresh ones or even raspberry jam. Combine the oats with almond milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Alternatively, you can use cows milk and add two tablespoons of ground almonds for a yummy nutty taste. If you haven’t defrosted your raspberries the night before, add them in too. Zap in the microwave for two minutes or until the porridge thickens. Give it a good stir then top with defrosted raspberries and a few more almonds. Delish!
Winter Spiced Porridge
Why we love it: pumpkin seeds are a good way of adding healthy fats to your diet, the spices remind us of Christmas.
Blogger’s recipe: Former model Dash from diaryofadashingfashionista.com loves running and fashion (don’t we all!). She also loves spiced porridge so asked her to share.
“This is one of my favourite ways to cook porridge on a cold winter morning, the spices get my circulation moving and make the porridge taste like Christmas cake (but with a fraction of the calories!)”.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 cup of porridge oats (I usually use Kilbeggan Porridge. Amazing stuff from a little farm in Ireland, which makes the creamiest porridge ever. But any jumbo oats will do)
1 cup of semi-skimmed milk
1 teaspoon of Sweet Quatre Epices (this is a traditional French spice mix, good in fruit cakes. It contains allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. I buy mine from The Spicery)
30g dried cranberries
20g pumpkin seeds
1 dessert spoon of maple syrup
How to make
Put the oats and milk in a saucepan and soak for 5 minutes off the heat. Stir in the spice mix – it will turn the porridge brown but don’t worry about that! Fire up the gas (or switch on the electricity) and simmer over a low heat for 10-15 minutes stirring frequently until creamy. Serve and add maple syrup (if desired), cranberries and pumpkin seeds. Bon appétit!
Tropical, Coconut Porridge
Why we love it: dairy free and tastes of sunshine.
Our recipe: Charlotte from Lunges & Lycra devised this little baby.
“This coconut and tropical fruit concoction makes me feel like I’m on a sunlounger in Barbados, not a sofa in Brixton. It’s also a good way to use up leftover coconut milk after you’ve made Thai curry.”
Ingredients
30g porridge oats
A few pieces of dried mango (tear into bite-size pieces)
Four or five chunks of fresh mango
One passion fruit
50ml coconut milk
200ml water
How to make
Add water, porridge oats and dried mango pieces to a bowl and microwave for two minutes or until cooked – your porridge should be thick and gloopy and the dried mango should be starting to go squidgy. Thin the cooked porridge with coconut milk, how much is up to you – I usually use around 50mls. Squeeze the contents of a passion fruit on top, add chunks of mango and a trickle of coconut milk. Devour.
Orange and Earl Grey Winter Fruit Salad Porridge
Why we love it: It tastes like you’re spoiling yourself but is actually really good for you.
Runner’s recipe: Bibi and Janey are the mother and daughter team behind veggierunners.com . They always have hearty, healthy recipes on their blog, including this one.
“This Orange and Earl Grey Winter Fruit Salad is easy to make in the evening and pile on your porridge the next day. It makes plenty, which is good because it’s so tasty you’ll probably want it with lunch and dinner too. It provides a good balance of carbs, protein and fibre, as well as a whole heap of vitamins and minerals.”
Ingredients
For the salad:
750g of a mixture of dried fruits (prunes, dates, figs, sultanas)
3 tbsp honey
1 earl grey tea bag
2 oranges
Zest of 1 of the oranges
For the yoghurt:
500g low-fat Greek yogurt
Zest of the other orange
To serve:
Piping hot porridge
How to make
Boil the fruit in a pint of water with the honey stirred in for 10 minutes. Take off the heat, pop the tea bag in along with the zest of one of the oranges and give it a bit of a stir. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes then fish it out. (A teabag is not like a sixpence in a pudding if forgotten about). Segment the oranges into the fruit mixture, letting the juices drip into the bowl as you do. Zest the other orange into the Greek yogurt. Serve the salad and yogurt with porridge, drizzling on some of the fruit juices for extra yumminess.
Poached Plum Porridge
Why we love it: once you’ve made the topping it lasts all week.
Cook’s recipe: Beth hosts pop-up dining experiences in Nottingham, runs The Kiosk – aka the best café in Notts – makes bloomin’ amazing bread, and is Charlotte from L&L’s cousin. (No bias in that description whatsoever)
“I never used to like porridge until my dear cousin introduced me to it made with prunes and rice milk. I started experimenting and my fave recipe now combines poached plums and cinnamon. You can add a sprinkle of pumpkin and sunflower seeds if you want for extra crunch.”
Ingredients
This recipe makes enough poached fruit to last at least a week. Keep it in the fridge and blob it on your porridge daily – it gets tastier with age.
700g plums (stoned)
60g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
How to make
Place plums in a shallow baking tray, pour the sugar over the fruit and add the cinnamon stick. Pop in the oven for around 20 mins (this varies depending on the ripeness of the fruit) at Gas Mark 3 or 170°C. Add a couple of spoonfuls to your porridge and enjoy.
Porridge, how do you like yours? Email us charlotte@lungesandlycra.co.uk or let us know in the comments section below.
