Getting the day off to a great start

How are those New Year resolutions going? If you’re struggling you’re not alone as I can profess from my own slight weaknesses and those around me. I have to admit that the recent bout of bad weather didn’t help things at all. Couldn’t get to the gym, struggled with the balance of not having too many comfort foods, its not been easy.

But one thing I did get into when the weather was cold was porridge. When you know you’ve got to go and face the wintery weather, it was nice to get warm food inside you and certainly one that was also good to get your digestive system stimulated in the morning.

Why is porridge so good? Well it has protein, B vitamins and slow released energy which is ideal to try and keep from snacking mid morning. But of course it is also full of gut friendly oats and the recipe below also includes some anti-oxidant rich dried fruit.

I know some visitors to the blog may have problems with lactose and therefore using milk with porridge might be a problem. But chatting to gastroenterologist Dr Naila Arebi last week suggested substituting milk for apple juice and then adding a range of fruits. I haven’t given it a try yet but I certainly will. And if you’ve got any great healthy breakfast recipes then please share them with us. But if you need to get some more healthy recipes then order your free digestive health pack today and we’ll send one out to you!

 

Porridge with prunes and apricots

Serves 2

Per serving

614 calories

12g fat

7g saturated fat

19g fibre

Ingredients

2 cups semi-skimmed milk

2 cups water

2 cups porridge oats

8 ready-to-eat prunes (snipped)

8 ready-to-eat apricots (snipped)

2 tsp brown granulated sugar

Extra milk for drizzling

Method

1. Put the milk and water into a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the oats and cook for 5 mins or as directed on the packer.

2. Add the prunes and the apricots to the porridge. Cover and leave for 1 min.

3. Pour into two bowls, sprinkle over the sugar and leave to melt – about 1 min. Serve with extra milk poured on top.