Saturday, October 25, 2014

the most autumnal breakfast there ever was: "pumpkin spice" porridge



Today I thought I'd try something a little different and dip my toe into the world of recipe posts!

I love food and clean eating, and with all of my food intolerances (lactose, gluten, fructose, etc) and IBS, I spend a lot of time finding ways to take delicious "normal" meals and tailor them to my dietary needs.

Enter, steel-cut oats! <3




Now I grew up eating oatmeal/porridge, and seriously love it but I had never attempted to make my own from scratch. I enjoy my oatmeal very dry, and so those handy Quaker oatmeal packets with a dab of water from the kettle always suited me just fine. I always imagined that homemade oats - the ones you cook on a stove top - would be wet/soggy/runny so the thought of them was always insta-gag for me.

My mum recently joined the clean eating family, and she is the one that actually suggested I try adding steel-cut oats to my diet, assuring me that they can be as dry as I like. It's definitely a plus that homemade oats contain less sugar and no dried fruits or dairy.

After one batch of oatmeal, I completely fell in love, and steel cut oats are now my breakfast staple.  Homemade oats offer so much more freedom when it comes to consistency, flavour, toppings, etc. I've tried a few different combinations, but this one is by far my favourite - and the most autumnal. Think of it as a coffee-free version of a pumpkin spice latte! As you'll see, The cinnamon adds a flavourful kick, the seeds a salty crunch, and the chocolate chips a chocolatey goodness that feels almost like dessert for breakfast!

That's enough of a ramble - now onto the good stuff!


What you'll need:
A tiny saucepan
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup steel-cut oats
1tbsp pumpkin seed
1tsp vegan chocolate chips
1tsp - 1tbsp cinnamon 
Any other topping you may like (fruits - especially berries - would be a good choice here!)

Here's all you need to do:
1) In a tiny saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil. 
2) Once the water starts to boil, add your 1/4 cup of oats and lower the heat to low-medium.
3) Here's where you'll need to be vigilant - keep stirring your oats around until they reach the consistency you want (for me, this is about 6 to 7 minutes)
4) Once your oats are done, put them in a bowl and stir in some cinnamon
5) Add the pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips, and stir these in too 
6) Add anything else you might like, and enjoy! (I cheated on my low fructose diet and added a few raspberries because they just looked too good!)







Let me know if you try this recipe, and what else you may like to add to your porridge! :)

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