Pear Porridge...with 'super boost' options!

This wasn't a planned post... so I apologise in advance that all the photos are shot on my iphone, not my pro dSLR I usually use for recipe posts!

I enjoyed this breakfast two days running this week with variations on each, so I spontaneously decided to share with you too.

Pear + Courgette + Ginger is always a winner for me! 

How about you- are you a fan of adding veggies to your porridge?

My favourites are courgette, carrot or sweet potato very finely grated and cooked in with the oats. There are loads (56 in total) porridge recipes and spin-offs in this recipe book I created in case you are interested!

On top of the pic below are my Wholeplus Toppers (relaunching with new eco packaging soon!), but you could use any topings you like... nuts, seeds, dried fruits, granola, a drizzle of nut butter... or nothing at all :-)

These photos also give a shout out to the book 'Thresholds' that I was featured in and have just had the hard copy delivered. Holding it in my hands was such a wondrous feeling. I contributed my story which tells of the most significant time of my life to date, I would love you to read it (it's in Kindle for only £1.49)... you can find more info here!

Recipe: Pear Porridge- with 'super boost' options

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup porridge oats (GF if desired)

• 1/2 cup finely grated courgette

• up to 1/2 cup boost options listed below* or more oats

• 1 pear- half cut into tiny chunks and half sliced thinly (for top)

• Large handful of small dried fruit pieces- such as chopped dates, raisins, cranberries, mulberries or my Wholeplus Toppers (see note above).

• 1 tbs chia seeds or flax seed

• 1 scant tsp grated ginger and/or ground turmeric (if using turmeric add a pinch of black pepper too to maximise nutrient absorption)

• approx 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of choice - more or less for desired thickness as it cooks.

• 1 tsp maca powder (optional)

• Handful of sunflower or pumpkin seeds (optional)

*up to 1/2 cup of a mix of the following: vegan protein blend, almond flour, cooked quinoa, quinoa flakes, teff flour, shelled hemp seeds (less of the hemp) 

Method:

Finely grate the courgette and add along with all ingredients (other than toppings) to a medium pan on the stove top. Bring to a simmer and cook for approx 5 minutes, adding extra liquid as required for desired consistency.

Serve, decorate, eat!

Notes:

1. In the first two photos I added cooked quinoa to the oats and handful of pumpkin seeds, then topped with Wholeplus Toppers (Gingerbread, Super Seedy or Lemon Pie would be fab!)

2. In the second two photos I added turmeric and black pepper then added 1/4 cup almond flour and 1/4 cup teff flour with a dusting of cinnamon on top.
    

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Spiced Apple & Pear Porridge

Hey! I'm popping in quickly on this Saturday afternoon, (whilst steaming my Christmas puddings) with a little recipe combo I've been eating quite a bit recently... I hadn't initially planned to write a blog post but then figures these photos weren't actually too bad, and since it was a lovely wintery warmer full of festive spice, it was too good not to share!!

P.s If you want to know what recipe I used for my Christmas pud I shared it here on Facebook. I thought it best not to blog it just yet since I won't know how well it's worked out until I taste it, but if you are going to make your own this is the latest time you should ideally be doing it, so that it can sit and mellow before the big day!  Fingers crossed it's as tasty as the non-vegan one I remember so well from years gone by.

So, back to the porridge... I used ingredients from two of my favourite companies for purchasing ingredients. RealFoodSource and Steenbergs (this is not an affiliate post but I did get some ingredients gifted to me to try in my recipes).

The freeze dried apple powder is great as an alternative whole food sweetener to syrups, it's literally ground up freeze dried apple! Teamed with Christmas Chia spice (regular ground cinnamon or mixed since would also work) it was delicious... I made two different variations, one with a sprinkle of cranberries an extra spice and another with dark chic chips and a drizzle of almond butter. Both were yum!

I sliced my pear longways and griddled it, but you could also cut into cubes and pan fry to warm through or serve raw.

Recipe: Spiced Apple & Pear Porridge

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup porridge oats

• 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk of choice

• 2 tbs freeze dried apple powder (more to taste if needed)

• 1/2 - 1 tsp christmas chai spice (or cinnamon/mixed spice)

• 1 pear- sliced and griddled in a touch of coconut oil

• Topping: dried cranberries or choc drops and almond butter (or everything!)

Method:

Add the oats, non-dairy milk, apple powder and spice to a small saucepan, bring to the boil then simmer for five minutes or so until cooked. Meanwhile griddle (or pan fry) the pear until softened.

Serve the porridge into a bowl then top with the pear slices and other toppings of choice. 

If you love porridge... check out my book 'Not Just For Goldilocks'  for over 50 unique porridge recipes with options to suit all tastebuds and dietary requirements.

Porridge is amazing and so versatile... it's literally my favourite meal ;-)

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Cosy up with...pear carrot and ginger oatmeal

Just checking in with you all!

It's been ages since i've posted new recipe.... i've barely had time to experiment. My life has been consumed with website updates, Wholeplus production, coaching studies, book writing and seminar prep. I've barely ventured into the kitchen and smoothies and quick veg soups and stirfrys have pretty much been the norm for my meals of late.

I couldn't stay out of the kitchen any longer (maybe that's procrastination trying to drag me away from 'scary stuff') so today I made two things- two super simple things!!

One I have for you today and the other hopefully early next week (thought you'll have seen it on my Instagram feed earlier today!)

After a hardcore spin session at the gym this morning I fancied something pretty substantial and full of texture instead of a smoothie. Oatmeal bumped up with veggies and fresh ginger for the anti-inflammatory kick. I often add a grated apple to my porridge but since I had a delivery of pears in the veg box this week the pear-carrot-ginger combo was born.  It was delicious, more so than I expected considering the amount of carrot I added for a single serve.

Add a drizzle of syrup to sweeten if you fancy- I used a tiny drizzle of approx 1 tsp of maple syrup for good measure. I also added maca powder as I like to add a little boost to breakfast or a smoothie during the day but again this is optional.

Back to website update! Hopefully they'll go live later tonight.... please let me know what you think, i'm feeling really nervous about this for some reason. Kind of like i'm putting myself out there before i'm ready. Though sometimes you never feel ready for the 'big stuff'.... you just have to get out there are start making your difference in the world and tweak as you grow, tweak as you grow...

...practice makes perfect!

Hope you are having an amazing weekend, whatever you get up to (I hope it includes eating this oat bowl!)

Recipe: Pear carrot and ginger oatmeal

serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup porridge oats

• 1 cup light coconut milk (or other non dairy milk of choice)

• 1 medium carrot- grated

• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

• 1 pear- chopped

• sweetener- optional

• 1 tsp maca powder- optional for an extra boost

Method:

Add the oats, milk, ginger and carrot to a small pan on the stove. Simmer for 5 minutes  and then add the pear chunks, cook for a further few minutes until he carrot has softened and the oats have cooked, the pear should have also softened a little.

Remove from the heat and stir through the maca if using and serve immediately with a little drizzle of syrup if extra sweetness is desired.

Chocolate baked pear pudding

I had another post scheduled for today..... but that's now been moved aside even though it was also amazing... this was just a little bit more amazinger! ;-)

Drop. whatever. you. are. doing. and. make. this. now!

You won't regret it!!

This takes just a couple of minutes to prep and then 10 minutes in the oven.... (twiddling thumbs waiting impatiently!) You can easily multiply the recipe to make lots more pots if you are serving as a dessert to guests. 

I got the original idea from Quirky Cooking when I saw an image Jo had posted on her Instagram feed of a poached pear cake. She used multiple pears in a single sponge cake, but because I was impatient and because I wanted a single-serve of a softer dessert-like variety, I put my own twist on the concept and voila.... a simple (ridiculously heathy) chocolate baked pear pudding.  Soooo so good!  

I've used oat flour as I ate this as brunch or a 'bressert' to be more precise ;-) and so wanted a oaty kick to sustain me, you could use buckwheat flour or your favourite GF flour combo.  The main thing is that the pudding is only baked until the pear turns golden and begins to wrinkle, the mixture at the base of the ramekin will still be fairly gooey and not fully cooked through like a sponge cake would be.... that makes it all the better!

I added a carob drizzle which tasted amazing too, the pear and carob combo was fab and when I make this dish again I will try subbing the cocoa for carob powder... so feel free to try either.  You could serve the pudding with chocolate sauce, vegan cream or ice-cream as you wish.

I imagine this could work with other stone fruits... If you try it another way please let me know how you get on! Unleash your creativity ;-)

For more single serving recipes ...check them out here. 

For more 'bresserts' (my favourite breakfast-dessert combo)...check them out here! 

Recipe: Chocolate baked pear pudding

serves 1

ingredients:

• 2 tbs oat flour (ground oats)

• 1 tbs cocoa (or carob flour)

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1/3 cup apple puree (or vegan yoghurt or other fruit puree)

• 2 tsp syrup of choice or a pinch stevia (to taste) 

• 1 tsp oil

• approx. 1 tbs liquid (only if needed to make a smoother batter)

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• 1 small-medium pear

• sauce for drizzle

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients to small bowl and add the wet ingredients and mix well. The mixture should be thick and fairly smooth (how smooth it is depends on the type of flour used my oat flour gave more texture).

Spoon the mix into a large ramekin (or small deep sides dish- there should be min. 1cm space beneath the rim once the pear is pushed in! to allow for a slight rise in the mixture).  Push the pear gently into the centre of the ramekin so that is at least half submerged.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 180C until the pear is golden and the mixture is very lightly browned.

Serve with a drizzle or carob,chocolate, yoghurt, cream as desired.

P.s It was hard to get a good shot of the centre of pudding...down in the depth of the ramekin. These photos simply don't do it justice....! 

Apple and caramelised pear pancakes

This breakfast does not loook so pretty i'll admit... it was hard to catch its good side and in the photos it's all one colour...but it tasted good and thats the main thing!

I fancied pancakes for breakfast but I had some pears I bought reduced and so needed using up. Then I remebered this amazing breakfast combo where i'd used mollases to coat and caramelise the pears, so I thought i'd give that same concept a go with pancakes on the side!

The pancakes were not quite as appley as I'd anticpated. I used oatmeal which was maybe a little more dominate in flavour so i think if had opted for spelt flour as per these pancakes then the apple puree and juice would have shone through a lot more. Use the flour of your choice, or maybe a combo of oats and others?

The yoghurt was a very simple but tasty creation as I had some remnants of the blended apple round the bowl and so instead of simply washing that down the sink, I added the yoghurt to it along with a little exra spice and so it became a subtly sweet creamy companion...don't skip it!

Recipe: Apple and caramelised pear pancakes

makes approx 12 mini pancakes

ingredients:

pancakes:

• 1/3 spelt flour of for non GF and a more breakfast theme use ground oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 small apple pureed
• 1 tsp chia
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• approx 1/2 cup apple juice (or other liquid) added slowly
• few drops stevia to taste

Pears:

• 2 pears- sliced thinly
• 1 heaped tsp mollasses

Yoghurt sauce:

• 1/4 cup vegan yoghurt ( used soy) 
• remnants of apple puree (I had approx 1 tbs) 
• pinch of cinnamon or ginger
• a touch of sweetener if desired

Method:

Mix all pancake ingredients together to achieve a smooth paste, add the apple juice slowly to get the right consistency (it should be like yoghurt). Use a melon baller (easiest way) to scoop small amounts of batter onto a hot oiled pan, cook for a couple of minutes on one slide and flip to cook for a further minute.*

Stack on a plate and without cleaning the pan add a tsp of mollases and the sliced pear and pan fry for a couple of minutes until softened and caramelised.

Serve over the pancakes.

I added a cinnamon apple yoghurt on the side, quickly mixed up in a matter of seconds as the pears cooked.

*Note- you can make regular sized pancakes but i found them much harder to flip! (that may just be my incompetence at pancake flipping!)