This is one of my favourite breakfasts because once it’s made there is enough to keep in the fridge for the week making it a quick and healthy breakfast which just needs a little reheating. Porridge is also a great medium for adding lots of healthy ingredient to such as frozen fruits, nuts and seeds. It’s also very filling and can be easily packed for breakfast on the go and eaten either hot or cold (although I prefer it hot). If you don’t have time to make this in the morning then simply make it the day before and store it in the fridge in an airtight container then scoop out what you want the next day and the rest will keep fine refrigerated for the week. Use the recipe below as a guide adding your own favourite fruits and nuts, just keep the proportion of oats and water the same.
Recipe:
2 cups or 190g of plain rolled oats
1/3 cup or 20g of unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup or 60g of sunflower seeds
1/3 cup or 30g of pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons of ground vanilla or 1 teaspoon of extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (I use ceylon cinnamon as it has more health benefits)
3/4 cup or 90g of mixed chopped nuts, I used pecans, almonds and walnuts
2 medjool dates, remove the stone and chop into small pieces (can also substitute with other dried fruit, honey or maple syrup)
1 1/2 cups or 220g of frozen blueberries (or other frozen fruit of your choice, I sometimes like to mix in frozen black cherries too)
2 cups or 500ml of water (you can also use nut milk)
Mix together all of the ingredients apart from the water in a pyrex or oven proof dish, when everything is well combined stir in the water which I usually warm a little in the kettle first to stop the water from freezing which I find the frozen fruit can do when mixing everything together. Smooth the top over with the back of the spoon so it’s flat and place in the oven on 160 C for 20 minutes. I like to cook with less heat and don’t like to brown the top too much as it’s healthier, the porridge is done when the top looks dry.
If you prefer the baked porridge a little sweeter then drizzle some maple syrup on top and maybe add a tablespoon or two into the mixture next time if you prefer it a touch sweeter. Although this is a breakfast dish you can also eat it for lunch or dinner.
