Vegan Breakfast Recipe: good, ole fashioned porridge

There is nothing quite like porridge on a cold winter's morning. Well, sort of. I mean, pancakes are obviously a winner. Hashbrowns and mushrooms fried up with some tomatoes and a big whack of avocado. But sometimes, you know, it's Monday morning and all of a sudden it turns out you don't have time to whip up a batch of pancakes. Or sweet potato hashbrowns (i will DEFINITELY put THAT recipe up soon!)


Anyway, porridge is pretty good. It's filling, it's tasty, and if you're a smart arse like me and you make up little containers of the following ingredients on the weekend, you can make it really quickly first thing when it's still dark outside and you've dragged yourself out of bed and you're trying to figure out how to get to the car without getting your hair rained on.

This recipe serves one, and is around 250 calories.

Ingredients:
A third of a cup of oats
two brazil nuts, chopped however you like
six to eight pistachios, chopped in half
six to eight dried cranberries
a dried apricot, chopped up
a tablespoon of pepitas and sunflowerseeds mixed
a pinch of desiccated coconut
a TINY pinch of salt (I only made the NOT tiny pinch mistake once. It was AWFUL)
a cup of water

(to be fair, the only bits of this list that aren't interchangable are the oats, water, and salt. Add any dried fruit and nuts, I go brazil because they're SO good for you, and pistachios and apricots because I like the sort of middle eastern combo they create. But almonds, dates, figs, whatever, be creative.)

To Serve:
agave or maple syrup (agave if you want to keep the calories down)
soy or nut milk

Combine all the ingredients (except the ones for serving) in a saucepan.

Now I used to think that porridge had to be made with milk, not water, and that porridge made for water wouldn't turn out creamy. But then, I used to think porridge made me feel sick, and when I went with water I realised it IS creamy, because it's the consistency of the oats not the milk that make it... porridge. Oh, and it doesn't make me queasy with water. Go water.

Turn on a low to medium heat and bring to the boil, remembering to stir frequently, until the water is absorbed by the oats and it's... well, you know. Porridge.

Serve topped with agave and soy/nut milk, and maybe a banana if you like (that's extra calories, kids.) Or, screw the calories, and smother it in Coyo (coconut yoghurt, food of the GODS) and strawberries. And it you will NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST AGAIN.

And there you have it. Breakfast for grown ups.