Traditional homemade wholegrain porridge

Breakfast is the meal that I most look forward to. After all, it is the meal that breaks our fast. My staple breakfast is rolled mixed grains, which I most often make into spiced porridge. With careful planning it can be made the traditional way with whole grains on your stove. It doesn’t have to disturb your morning routine.

Cooked and served - turmeric, cinnamon and sultana porridge topped with sliced fresh peach

Porridge for 1

Ingredients

  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixed rolled whole grains (oats, barley, rye, quinoa, rice, oat bran)
  • 1/8 teaspoon each of your favourite spices
  • Water
  • 1/2 cup milk for a thick porridge

Optional

  • 3/4 tablespoon sultanas or currents or 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon seeds
  • 1 tablespoon nuts
  • 1/2 Plain yoghurt
  • Fresh, preserved or canned fruit

To make additional serves of porridge, just multiply the ingredients by the number of serves required.

Steps

1) Place the dry ingredients in a pot. My favourite spices are turmeric and cinnamon.

Ingredients for porridge, mixed grains and spicesRaw ingredients for porridge in the pot - grains and spices

 

 

 

 

 

2) Cover the grains with hot water. Place the lid on the pot and leave the raw ingredients to soak for about 10 minutes or longer. Alternatively you can place your ingredients in a bowl and soak them overnight in the refrigerator.

Add boiling water to grains to speed up cooking process

You will notice that the grains have absorbed all of the water.

The grains soak up the water

3) If you are adding dried fruit, such as sultanas, add and stir through the soaked ingredients. You can see that the mixture is quite thick.

Mix the sultanas into the soaked porridge grains

4) Add 1/2 cup of milk of your choice, stir through the milk and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. While your porridge is cooking you can prepare some fresh fruit, nuts or seeds.

Add 1/2 cup of milk for a thick porridge

5) Serve and add your toppings. You may add additional milk at this stage if you like.

Now you have made a traditional porridge in a little over 5 minutes.

Tropical Porridge

In step 4) add 1/4 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup water and prepare fresh tropical fruits, such as mango or pawpaw. There is no need for additional added sweetener with these ingredients.

Benefits of traditional porridge

  • An excellent source of dietary fibres
  • Provides a range of nutrients and phytonutrients
  • Naturally low in saturated fat and salt
  • The only added sugar is the amount you add
  • An appetite pleaser
  • Provides sustained energy
  • Versatile – you can change the grains, spices, milks and toppings and enjoy a variety of breakfasts, offering different colours, flavours and textures.

If you are interested in learning more about whole grains, I recommend the information on the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council website. You may also like to read information on the recommended servings of whole grains and cereals.

I encourage you to try a whole grain based breakfast. Making traditional homemade porridge doesn’t need to be time-consuming. Once soaked, the grains only take around 5 minutes to cook and serve. But what I like most of all, is that I can choose my fruit, nut and seed toppings based on how I feel on the day. Enjoy breaking your fast with porridge.

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