One of my early childhood memories of food was eating steaming hot porridge for breakfast, mum saying ‘take from the edges’ because it was too hot to eat, ‘and blow’…
Porridge cooked on the fire, topped with melting butter, brown sugar and ground cinnamon, thick, creamy and delicious with a hint of campfire smoke.
Mum would often cook us breakfast out on the campfire, porridge or pancakes or toast with honey. Under the flooded gums and camphor laurels, the smoke stinging my eyes, Mum with her fingerless gloves and woollen beanie. All sitting together on cold mornings enjoying our brekky around the fire.
I now serve porridge to my 4 year old in the cooler weather and she loves it, I often add chia seeds and grated apple and cinnamon. I let her drizzle her own honey on top and she will often lick the spoon first before trying the porridge, I say to her ‘take from the edges and blow,’ she puts her lips in a funny shape and blows fiercely, I chuckle as not much air cools the porridge..
Porridge is such a comfort in autumn and winter, it warms the insides and feels soothing and easy to digest. Adding chia seeds helps to slow the absorption of glucose from the oats, which contain a lot of starch, its best to add nuts and seeds and/or nut butters and other healthy fats and protein to make it more nourishing overall and reduce any unwanted spike in blood glucose.
There are numerous topping ideas for porridge which makes it fun and exciting to play around with.. you can come up with some great flavours and although the memories of melted butter and brown sugar are lovely, I need a little more healthy fats and protein these days..find flavour combinations that you love and experiment with ones you haven’t tried..
For this recipe I’ve kept it simple but feel free to change up the toppings to whatever you have on hand.
Here are some easy porridge topping ideas;
Nut or seed butters, e.g peanut, almond, tahini
Ground seed mix, like LSA (linseed, almond and sunflower seeds)
Spices like cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg
Seasonal berries of all kinds
Seasonal stewed or fresh fruit like apples, pears or rhubarb, orange slices, figs…
Coconut oil, ghee or butter
Coconut yoghurt or other yoghurt
Chia seeds, hemp seeds or flaxseeds
Walnuts, almonds, cashews
The list goes on.…
Here’s to enjoying a cozy breakfast, memories of food and love circling around us as we eat and share and remember another time gone by, all whilst remaining present in the here and now.
Enjoy!
Creamy Chia and Oat Porridge
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats Gluten free if possible
- 1 tbsp Chia seeds
- 2 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1 cup Plant milk of choice
- 1/2 cup water
Optional toppings
- 1 tbsp LSA (ground linseed, sunflower and almonds)
- 1/2 cup sliced apples, fresh or lightly stewed
- 1 tbsp Hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup Seasonal berries
- 2 tbsp Peanut or Almond butter Organic if possible
Instructions
- Add the oats and chia seeds, cinnamon powder, milk of choice and water to a medium saucepan
- Gradually bring to the boil, stirring regularly to avoid sticking
- Reduce heat to a simmer, continue to stir regularly, until the oats and chia seeds have thickened into a creamy consistency, around 5-7minutes
- Remove from heat and serve into 2 bowls
- Add toppings of choice and an extra splash of milk
- Enjoy! Remember to take from the edges if hot!
