WINTER BERRY OATS
Perfecting your porridge
Love is a big bowl of warming oats!!! This delicious recipe, from co-founder Evelyn, is guaranteed to not only nourish your body but taste delicious too. As this month’s theme is focused on love, we wanted to share a recipe that is great for your heart as well. Evidence has found that wholegrain oats can help lower blood cholesterol as it contains beta-glucan, a soluble fibre, largely unique to oats. It works by telling your liver to pull LDL cholesterol out of the blood. The beta-glucan then binds to some of the cholesterol in your gut, keeping it from ever reaching your bloodstream.
This dish will also slowly release energy during the morning, preventing dramatic spikes in blood sugar levels. And we think its safe to say sustained energy is what we all need right now!
Now as much as Evelyn loves oats, she describes how no bowl of porridge is complete with out an array of toppings. This is one of her favourite combinations, incorporating a winter berry compote, toasted seeds and coconut, and a big dollop of almond butter!
Servings: 1
Time to create: 15 minutes
Ingredients
Porridge:
50g oats + 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds (soaked in 125ml of water for at least 30 minutes)
125ml unsweetened almond milk
A pinch of salt (I used Himalayan)
Winter berry compote:
100g of frozen winter berries (blackberries and blackcurrants)
½ tbsp of maple syrup
Squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbsp of water
Toppings:
1 tbsp of mixed seeds (toasted)
1 tbsp of coconut flakes (toasted)
1 tbsp of almond butter
Method
Start by making the compote. Place all of the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Stir and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
Place the oat and flax mixture into a pan (including the water they were soaking in) and add the salt and almond milk. Place over a medium heat and stir consistency for 3-4 minutes until it has reached a desired consistency.
Decant the oats into a bowl, top with the compote, seeds, coconut, and almond butter.
Sit back and enjoy!
Top tip:
Don’t have winter berries - no problem use blueberries or raspberries. Can also use fresh fruit but will require less time over the stove.
Why add salt? - the salt will bring out the natural nutty, slightly toasted flavour of the oats
