Tis the season for growing apples, so to make good use of all those apples in the garden here is my recipe for a creamy apple and blackberry porridge. As soon as it gets a little colder, I love having porridge for breakfast. It makes the perfect start to an autumn or winter day. I love whipping this up first thing in the morning, for the sweetness of the fruit with the hint of cinnamon spice.
Apples are rich in antioxidant vitamin C, helping repair cells and pectin, a type of fibre that acts as a prebiotic. This means it feeds the good bacteria in your gut and is thought to be the reason for the protective effects of apples against obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Apples are one of my favourite fruits for fertility. Low calorie and low GI, they are a great choice for men and women who need the nutritional benefit of fruit without all the extra sugar encouraging blood sugar balance.
Blackberries are also packed in vitamin C, with just one cup having 30.2 milligrams of vitamin C (that's half the daily recommended value). Eating foods rich in vitamin C at this time of year, will keep your immune system strong to ward off winter cold's. Any fruit from the berry family are a brilliant fruit to incorporate into your diet daily because they are packed with antioxidants, have the lowest GI of any fruit meaning their sugar is absorbed by the body slowly.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2
100g gluten free porridge oats
1 eating apple
275ml milk of your choice / almond milk / oat milk
1/4 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Handful of blackberries to serve
Optional toppings:
Drizzle of honey, almond butter, coconut flakes, your choice of fruit.
METHOD
Soak the oats in a medium bowl of 150ml cold water & set aside. Meanwhile, put the apples, coconut oil & 1 tbsp cold water in a saucepan, cover with a lid, and cook until the apples have softened for approx 8 minutes.
Pour the soaked oats and soaking liquid into the pan and stir in the cinnamon and milk. Turn the heat to low-medium and gently simmer for 10 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon regularly to avoid the oats from clumping together.
When the porridge has a thick but stirrable consistency, take the pan off the heat and serve with a few slices of fresh apples and blackberries. The porridge will taste creamy and has the sweetness from the apples, blackberries and cinnamon but if your wanting something sweeter drizzle with honey or a dollop of almond butter or your choice of added fruit.
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Be kind to yourself, and until next time.
Lisa x