The porridge is a breakfast that takes me back to when I lived in London. The first time I tasted it I was surprised — perhaps I expected a bland flavor, but to my great surprise I found it very flavorful and so I kept eating it often in the morning, especially during the colder periods, which certainly aren’t lacking here in the Netherlands.
To make porridge you just cook the oat flakes or another cereal in milk and add other ingredients to taste such as fruit and often cream. Obviously I prepared a light, vegan version without cream that is still creamy, sweetened with fresh fruit and dried fruit/nuts.
In short, it’s a tasty breakfast that contains everything you need to face the day with energy and warms a winter morning, and it’s also not a bad idea as a snack. On my blog you’ll also find no-cook summer versions that are equally delicious. Let’s make it.
Other ideas for enjoying a light porridge are here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 1
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup whole rolled oats (or buckwheat)
- 1/2 cup soy milk (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp agave syrup (or maple syrup or 1 Medjool date)
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste blueberries (fresh or frozen, optional)
- 1 fresh fruit (as desired)
- 1/2 tbsp nuts (or seeds, as desired)
- Points per serving = 5 WW points
Preparation
If you like, you can toast the nuts you chose in a pan and then chop them into small pieces.
Clean the fresh fruit and cut it into pieces.
Put the oat flakes in a small saucepan with the water and the pinch of salt and cook over medium heat, stirring for about 5 minutes: the water should evaporate.
Alternatively, for a quicker preparation you can leave the flakes in the water the night before and in the morning you’ll see that the water has been absorbed and the flakes are already softer: then you can proceed directly to the next step of the recipe.
Add the milk and, if you use the date instead of agave syrup, cut it into pieces and add it now so that by the end of cooking it will be almost completely dissolved.
The same goes for blueberries: if you use them add them now so that they will burst while cooking and give a beautiful color to your porridge.
Cook for a few more minutes over low heat, stirring so that the porridge becomes very creamy.
Our creamy light porridge is ready to be enjoyed. Pour it into a serving bowl and finish by arranging the fresh and dried fruit and, if you use it, the agave syrup.
As you can see you can vary the porridge in many ways. My favorite is the one in the top photo where I added blueberries that give this beautiful pink color, banana and more fresh blueberries. I sweetened this one with a date: it’s delicious!
And if you want you can also sprinkle a little cinnamon on top which will leave an aroma I adore. In short: how good is porridge? Let me know in the comments at the bottom of the recipe or on Facebook.
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
