Baked porridge

Baked porridge is kinda like having pudding for breakfast, but healthier than a pud.

We have so many variations on porridge we need write a book very soon!

This delicious one is by fitnat friend Khara Mills. Khara has tried and tested it each week after doing parkrun, and it’s well-established. You can even assemble it the night before making it to save a few mins.

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients

100g porridge oats
1 tsp cinnamon (ginger and nutmeg are other options)
scant tsp of fine sea salt
½ tsp baking powder
butter to butter the dish
large handful of frozen or fresh berries or use any fruit you like. The one in the picture uses cooking apples and blackberries which I part-cooked in a pan with a dash of water first.
approx 275ml organic whole milk
dessert spoon of mild clear honey

Instructions

Place the oats in a bowl and add the cinnamon, salt and baking powder, mix.

Lightly butter a baking dish

Cover the bottom of the dish with the fruit Add the oat mixture to the dish, mix the honey into the milk and slowly pour over enough to cover the oats, then press down lightly. You can leave the honey out and rely on the sweetness of the fruit, or add a drizzle of honey at the end if you prefer.

Bake at about 200 deg centigrade for 20-30 mins, checking after 20 mins.

Serve with a little bit of natural yoghurt, Jersey milk or kefir.

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Nutrition Info

Oats

Oats are particularly high in manganese which is great for healthy bone formation, healthy skin and helping to control blood sugar. Oats are a wholegrain, that means the good stuff hasn’t been removed. Wholegrains are an important source of B vitamins and fibre.

Oats are a great source of the soluble fibre called beta-glucan. That’s what makes porridge kinda viscous and it stays quite viscous as it passes through you, sweeping up any excess cholesterol as it goes. A happy gut is at the heart of good health!

Oats do a special thing – as they pass through your intestine their bulk presses against its muscly walls. It presses back in response and by doing so its muscles get stronger. Oats are literally like a sparring partner for your digestive tract!

Berries

Berries are not only wonderful and versatile gems of sweetness, they also provide us with a myriad of nutrients, helping to maintain a well-rounded diet and good health. They’re packed to the brim with flavonoids for fighting inflammation and cell damage. They’re also a great source of fibre, but only when eaten as the whole fruit; juicing fruit breaks the fibre down before your body has the joy of doing so. Fibre gives your good gut microbes their favourite food and helps them to proliferate and spread their magic right through your system all the way from brain to toes. They also provide vitamin C for healthy skin and connective tissue as well as immunity.

Honey provides trace minerals and the cream and milk provide B vitamins, particularly B12, calcium and vitamin D.

It follows that they never understood Reginald, who came down late to breakfast, and nibbled toast, and said disrespectful things about the universe. The family ate porridge, and believed in everything, even the weather forecast.

Saki