Viola Adamsson - Porridge Muesli: Healthy Recipes to Kick-start Your Day

Some flour, flakes or grains, water and perhaps some salt, a pan, whisk or spoon and, hey presto, youve got a meal. Porridge is right on trend it has become a healthy alternative to other fast food in our modern urban culture and is now frequenting the menus of chic cafs and restaurants.

While the term fast food usually has negative connotations, porridge really is a healthy fast food. Plus it can be combined with many healthy accompaniments. You can even avoid washing a pan if you use a microwave, although I do think porridge cooked in a pan tastes different from porridge cooked in a microwave. It could have something to do with the slower heating (my own speculation). Anyway there are tricks for .

Porridge is a simple way to get both whole grains and dietary fibre into your diet. National recommendations for dietary fibre intake vary, but the consensus is that we should be eating around 30g/1oz per day, while the recommended daily intake of whole grains is around 75g/3oz (per 2400 calories) per day. One portion of rolled-oat porridge provides 4g/oz of dietary fibre and 40g/1oz of whole-grain ingredients while a portion of porridge made from rye will supply 8g/oz of dietary fibre and 40g/1oz whole-grain ingredients. will give you about 14g/oz of dietary fibre in a single portion!

Porridge lines the stomach so effectively that many people fill up on porridge and last all day long. Others may experience a hole in the stomach that is, they get hungry after a portion of porridge. I belong in that category. you have to keep on trying and find the variety of porridge that suits you best. I find that rye flakes mixed in with the rolled oats makes the porridge more filling.

The consistency of porridge depends on your cooking method and also the choice of whole, cut or chopped grains, flakes and flour. A whisked porridge will be smoother than a stirred one. Classic whisked porridges include was traditionally made with milk, wheat flour, rice grains or semolina.

During the 18th century, porridge and gruel were often served several times a day, especially as evening porridge. Porridge for breakfast is an early 20th-century invention, while various different types of porridge have always been served on festive occasions, such as weddings and harvest.

Popularity of different grains tends to be regional and affected by the local crops. Only in the 18th century did rice-grain porridge become part of the peasants diet as a festive food.

When it comes to porridge, everyone has an opinion even those who are trying interesting combinations for the first time and have no preconceptions about how porridge should be served. A good example is the porridge combination I saw in Falun during the Nordic World Cross-Country Ski Championship in 1993, where we tried Japanese oat porridge with crisp fried bacon not easy to eat with chopsticks! Bacon with oat porridge isnt completely unconventional not that long ago Swedish woodcutters ate fried back bacon with their porridge, and cross-country skiing burns just as many calories. I also remember from the same championship that Norwegian crosscounty skiers topped their porridge with Brunost their delicious caramelized brown cheese.

Another porridge served with fried back bacon and lingonberry jam is nvgrt, a festive Swedish classic made from toasted oat flour and served as a lunch dish. I learnt from a coach for the Swedish skiing team that you should be relaxed about cooking nvgrt, just bring water to the boil, add the oat flour, then stir occasionally. Unlike whisked porridge, this should be lumpy and dry so it is easy to transport for lunch. A similar rye or barley porridge is motto or mutti. We can partly thank King Karl IX for the introduction of navgrot and mutti to Sweden, as he invited Finnish settlers to come and live in the desolate forests in order to cut them down and cultivate the land, and it was the Finns who brought these dishes to Sweden.

In 1988 I was in the US and saw on the news that oats could help to lower slightly increased cholesterol levels, primarily oat bran. I had not heard of oat bran in Sweden before, so I went on a shopping expedition to several supermarkets in Detroit to buy some, but it was sold out everywhere. In one hour, the people of Detroit had all gone out to buy oat bran. I got hold of some a few days later and since then I have eaten delicious oat bran porridge every morning. Plenty of research now confirms its cholesterol-lowering qualities.

Porridge made from rolled oats is the classic recipe, but there are several different types of rolled oats to choose from. Larger oat flakes will be ready in 3 minutes, porridge oats and thinner flakes will be ready in 2 minutes. Those who are gluten intolerant can still enjoy porridge if they use gluten-free rolled oats.

SERVES 1

100G/3OZ/1 CUP ROLLED OATS

250ML/9FL OZ/GENEROUS 1 CUP WATER

1 PINCH OF SALT

TO SERVE, SEE BELOW

Put the rolled oats and water in a pan and add the salt. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the porridge doesnt stick to the base of the pan. If you stir the oat flakes into boiling water, youll get a grainier porridge with more character.

are the classic accompaniments. Also try serving the porridge with yogurt and raspberries, or soured cream, cinnamon and sugar. Serve with Brunost (caramelized whey cheese) and strawberry jam, and youve got a Norwegian classic.

Tip To cook in the microwave, mix together the oats, water and salt in a bowl. Microwave on Medium for about 3 minutes, then stir well.

OAT PORRIDGE WITH CARAMEL COATING SERVES 2

2 PORTIONS OAT PORRIDGE (SEE ABOVE)

2 TBSP SUGAR

If you dont have a blow torch, preheat the grill to high. Cook the porridge according to the recipe, then divide between two heatproof bowls. Sift the sugar over the bowls and caramelize using a culinary blow torch or under the grill until the sugar has melted into a golden caramel. This may take 56 minutes.

Try topping the porridge with fresh fruit, such as sliced bananas, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.

This oat porridge takes its inspiration from the classic dessert, Peach Melba. Consisting of vanilla ice cream, peaches and raspberries, it is named after Dame Nellie Melba, who was an Australian soprano singer. When the vanilla ice cream is replaced with oat porridge, it is transformed into a new and exciting dish.

SERVES 2

2 PORTIONS

100G/3OZ/ CUP RASPBERRIES, CRUSHED

2 FRESH NECTARINES OR PEACHES, STONED AND SLICED