The Porridge Lady (Anna Louise Batchelor) has kindly allowed me to share an unusual porridge recipe that I think is particularly healthy from her selection.
I love porridge but tend to come over all monochromatic when thinking about health eating recipes. A quick trawl through Anna’s site filled me with inspiration; why re invent the wheel?
I particularly liked the look of her Hobbit-y Porridge and with a tiny tweak (the suggestion of a different kind of milk, maybe?) I thought it would make a healthy variation to plain old oats and some kind of liquid.
First of all; what does it have in it?
Ingredients
- 3 generous tablespoons of hazelnuts
- 2 mugs of jumbo oats
- 2 mugs of water
- 2 mugs of rice dream, almond milk or any other ‘milk’ of your choosing.
- 2 generous handfuls of barley flakes
- 2 generous handfuls of rye flakes
- 2 tablespoons of preserved berries (frozen berries or a good fruity jam can be used)
Method
- In a frying pan toast the hazelnuts*. Then set the nuts aside to cool.
- Into a large saucepan pour the cups of oats, water and milk and stir well.
- Place the saucepan over a high heat and bring the oats to the boil stirring constantly.
- Once the oats have come to the boil reduce heat to a simmer and continue to stir regularly.
- After 5 mins add the barley and rye flakes. You don’t want to cook them too much as these flakes will add some chew and texture to the Porridge.
- Once the oats have turned into a nice creamy Porridge remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.
- Then chop the hazelnuts into rough chunks.
- Pour the Porridge into bowls.
- Spoon in the berries and swirl through the Porridge.
- Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the top.
Why do I think it is healthy?
There is a shed load of fibre in this porridge. Fibre not only keeps the bowels chugging away nicely, it is also good for lowering cholesterol and maintaining energy through balancing blood sugar.
The addition of rye and barley whilst both gluten containing grains, means that you are adding variation to the diet. This minimises the opportunity to become dependent on one or two grains potentially thought to be the problem with wheat. Many people who have not been diagnosed with a recognised medical condition, believe themselves to be ‘allergic’. What may have happened is that that they have become intolerant through eating a particular food several times a day. However, I would add this is a very contentious point!
The addition of either fresh or frozen berries adds a good dose of antioxidants. These are essential for maintaining health shoring up the immune system and contributing to skin health among other important things.
Hazelnuts are under rated in terms of health. The healthy fats they contain are understood support the heart via helping with blood pressure and cholesterol. They also contain powerful natural plant nutrients that are very useful to the immune system again. *However their precious oils do lose some of their value when heated. I prefer them uncooked to maximise the benefits although this does impact on the flavour.
All in all this recipe will dismiss any boredom you may have with traditional porridge.
If you want more porridge inspiration then pop over to see the Porridge Lady’s site. Anna will fill your tummy and your recipe book with lots of new ideas.
My thanks to Anna Louise Batchelor aka The Porridge Lady.