Raspberry, Cacao & Chia Porridge

#dairyfree #plantbased

Rising and shining to this bright, warm, and wholesome bowl of goodness makes winter mornings that much easier! This porridge is like a hug in a bowl and feels like a decadent start to the day, but is actually surprisingly easy to make and good for you. And a little life hack for you…I make it in bigger batches and just reheat it over a few days to make mornings just that little bit more “chill-vibes” versus the dreaded “rush-vibes”. I love the creaminess of the porridge (sans cream), and the crunch factor on top thanks to the coconut flakes and cacao nibs. The cacao nibs have the added bonus of adding a little dash of caffeine to your morning, to really help get your day started. And my absolute favourite part about this porridge is mixing the frozen raspberries into the porridge just before eating. They not only add a vibrant hue to help awaken your senses, but the fact they are frozen helps to cool down the porridge ready for you to dig in as they deliciously defrost before your eyes. Good morning to you…enjoy!

Nutrition Bite:
Cacao nibs are small pieces of crushed cacao beans that have a bitter, chocolatey flavour. They can be purchased from supermarkets or health food stores in bulk, and are little power-houses of nutrition. They pack a punch when it comes to free-radical fighting antioxidants and are naturally very low in sugar. Cacao nibs are also one of the highest plant-based forms of iron and are also considerably high in magnesium. In short, these tiny morsels are big on nutrition!

Porridge Ingredients:

2/3 cup of rolled oats

2 teaspoons of chia seeds

1 ¼ cups of vanilla almond milk

1 mashed banana

2 teaspoons of honey

Topping Ingredients:

¾ cup of frozen raspberries

1 sliced banana

4 teaspoons of cacao nibs (if you don’t have cacao nibs, you can mix a teaspoon of cocoa powder into the porridge to make it a chocolate flavour!)

2 tablespoons of coconut flakes

1 teaspoon of honey, to drizzle (optional, can add more or less depending on desired sweetness!)

Directions:

1. Over a medium heat, mix the oats, chia seeds, and almond milk in a pan on the stove. Once simmering, turn down the heat, and add in the mashed banana and honey. Cook for approximately 7 minutes. You can add more milk to achieve a runnier consistency, if desired.
2. Spoon into two bowls, and top with the sliced banana, coconut flakes,  frozen raspberries and cacao nibs. Drizzle with honey if that takes your fancy.