Porridge with Vanilla Bean, Apple, Cinnamon + Hazelnut Crumble
There is nothing better than a warm bowl of nourishing porridge to start the day. I love this recipe, it’s simplicity and a delicious taste reminicent of apple strudel. What’s great about it is that it takes just a few minutes to cook up and if you’re a mover and shaker, you can easily combine all the ingredients into a bowl the night before and allow the oats and seeds to soften and absorb the milk and aromatics. Use whatever milk you prefer – but the real secret is to have extra hot steaming milk on hand to pour over around the edges. You can also top with extra fruits such as banana or vanilla poached pear.
What’s great about it:
Oats are a great source of soluble fibre and according to studies, the beta-glucan fibre found in oats can help regulate your appetite for up to 4 hours as well as help lower cholesterol. Cinnamon improves insulin’s efficiency, which helps regulate blood sugar levels. A Swedish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that inclusion of cinnamon in the diet lowered blood glucose levels – the amount used was ½ a teaspoon. Red apple adds sweetness and it’s high in pectin fibre that helps keep you fuller for longer. The addition of flaxseeds can also help reduce cholesterol by lowering blood sugar levels because of it’s high fibre and high omega 3 content. Flax can also help keep you regular and eliminate toxins because the seeds are packed with both soluble and insoluble fibre to absorb water and stimulate peristalsis of the colon.
1/4 cup (25 g/ 3/4 oz) organic rolled oats (see notes on GF)
1 red apple, grated
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 heaped tablespoon ground/ chopped roasted hazelnut
20 g (1/2 oz) dried organic apple
1 tablespoon muscatel raisins
pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 cup (250 ml / 8 1/2 oz) milk (your choice almond, dairy, coconut, seed)
1/2 cup (125 ml/ 4 1/2 fl oz) water
Hazelnut Crumble
1 tablespoon ground and chopped hazelnuts
pinch ground cinnamon
Combine oats, apple, flaxseed, hazelnut, dried apple, muscatels, cinnamon, vanilla and milk into a small pot.
Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes over a medium heat or until your porridge is creamy, hot and thick, adding more water or milk if necessary.
Pour into a serving bowl.
Sprinkle with extra hazelnuts over the top before serving – you can also add a touch of
Accompany with extra hot milk to pour around the edges if you wish.
Sprinkle with combined hazelnut crumble.
Enjoy and be nourished.
SERVES 1
Notes:
For gluten free porridge replace 1/4 cup oats with your choice of :
Rolled or cooked whole quinoa, LSA, roasted buckwheat or millet.
Stir through 1 tablespoon natural protein if needed.
Nutritional info per serve:
Protein: 14 g
Total Fat: 8.8 g
Saturated: 2.8 g
Carbs: 50 g
Sugars: 37 g
Fibre: 8 g
kilojoules: 1410
Calories: 337
Hi Teresa,
I can’t wait to try this recipe!!!! Can you tell me how many servings the recipe is for?
Thanks
Rachel x
Yum yum! How many does this serve? How big is a one person serving?
Is this a single serve? Sounds delicious.
Yum!!! I do a very similar one inspired by the healthy chef and have it every morning!! Mine contains oat, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, dried cranberries, crushed walnuts, cinnamon, topped with a banana or grated apple and unhomogenised.. Yum!!
I have been advised that Oats are GF? Its just that some may be contaminated? Are GF oats available from Health food shops?
Hi Deb – please have a read on the position statement from Coeliac Society on oats: http://coeliac.org.au/content/downloads/Oats%20Position%20Statement.pdf
Yum! Woundering if this could be done with steel cut oats in a slow cooker overnight
Yum! I don’t know what I would do without your breakfasts, delicious…. thank you so much, I love cooking and you make it so more enjoyable when it’s healthy!
Oh this sounds devine, I cannot wait to try it!
Hi Teresa, I am a long distance runner and always have porridge for breakfast before a long run (anything 20km and longer). Oats are fantastic at keeping me sustained for hours. I tried this recipe and loved it. I did substitute a couple of things: walnuts and pistacios for hazelnuts, and dried apricots and peaches for the muscatels and dried apple. Added a teaspoon of maple syrup over the top as well. Yum!
I enjoy your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Di
My weakness is sweets because I love the sugar but at the same time I try to avoid a lot of regular sugar. When I can get it from fruits though I definitely indulge because it’s healthier. Being able to get a great, healthy breakfast with oats and fruit as well as getting some of the sweet flavor that I really love sounds great to me. I definitely like how you included the nutritional information at the end of this post too so I can see what all I’m getting :)
This is one of my favourite recipe from this site, Teresa – I adore it! Just wondering though if it is meant to serve 2, as I put all the ingredients into the calorie counter app I use and it came out at over 500 calories?
I miss the Healthy Chef in Avalon, Teresa do you not want to open up a Restaurant in Boulder Colorado I would be there every day. Promise! Maria
Ha Ha I would love to be in Colorado !!! :) Nothing betting than hiking and skiing and breathing in that lovely fresh air !!!!! You should start one up…we can licence Healthy Chef to you – it would be awesome !!! :) xx
Hi teresa!
Absolutely adore your blog! Just tried this recipe after a nice 9km run and its doing wonders! I didn’t have any dried apple so i used dried plums, and also used almonds instead of hazelnuts and added dried coconut. It is delicious, thanks a million xx
Love this recipe.
I make a large batch at one time so I dont have to think about all the measuring of ingredients on the mornings that I want to have this. I find 1/3 cup is about 40gms which seems to be a fairly average serving size for breakfast cerals. Just as for regular plain rolled oats I add 3x that in milk, so a cup of milk, and soak overnight and its ready to go in the morning. I forget the grated apple more often than not but it is still a real treat to start the day with.