Golden Porridge with Mulberries, Berries and Coconut Sugar

Life can get pretty hectic, and so for me sometimes it is the small things that really make me appreciate the weekend. This weekend, it was having time to have a lazy breakfast in bed. I normally grab something on the go, but this Saturday I pootled around in the kitchen and made this amazing porridge, and then took it back to bed and snarfled it.

It was so easy to make, now I am certain you can make this in the microwave if you really want. But there was something almost decadent about casually stirring a simmering porridge pot and not have to worry about rushing about and getting ready.

I call this golden porridge due to the luxurious colour the porridge turned when I stirred in the coconut sugar. It was caramel sweet from the inclusion of white mulberries and date syrup, and completely free from cane sugar! I used oat flakes but you can use whatever flakes you desire – millet, rice or amaranth would work just as well if you wanted something gluten-free! Good news for those of you who are vegan or on a dairy-free diet – this recipe contains no dairy whatsoever! A key thing to remember is that when I say coconut milk, I mean the dairy milk alternative – not the stuff you get in cans and use for curry. There is a massive difference, so make sure you use the milk alternative!

I swear, this porridge is good enough to tempt even the heartiest of porridge-haters, my test audience adamantly protested that they hate porridge, but then ate the whole bowl and went back for a secret second helping of this! I like persuading people that healthy food is delicious – it makes me feel secretly smug 😉 (sorry, not sorry!)

So enough waffling, here is how you make it!

Ingredients:

Serves two/three depending on how hungry you are!

• 1/3 cup of porridge flakes
• 1/4 oat bran
• A tablespoon white mulberries
• 2 cups of coconut milk (I used kara, it is super creamy)
• 1 tablespoon on coconut sugar
• 1 pinch of Himalayan pink salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder
• 4 strawberries
• A sprinkling of goji berries
• 8 raspberries
• 1 tablespoon maca powder
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• Date syrup to garnish

Method:

1. Add the oats, oat bran, mulberries, vanilla powder, salt, coconut sugar and coconut milk to a pan. Bring to a simmer on a medium heat and continue to stir until the porridge thickens.
2. Add more milk if desired and cook for around ten minutes.
3. Pour into bowls, garnish with fresh fruit, maca powder, date syrup and chia seeds. The latter all get added post-cooking to prevent the heat damaging the nutrients!
4. Scoff and feel smug that you just ate something that was super healthy and still delicious!

That is it! I firmly believe that it tastes even better if you are in pjs, in bed and eating this on a lazy weekend morning! Happy weekend everyone!