Porridge for Babies, Toddlers and Grown Ups

Why don't more people eat porridge?  I think part of the reason is people think it's difficult.  It's not at all but if you make it on the hob it makes no sense to cook it for 1 and the pan ends up pretty mucky.  Making it in the microwave solves all of that.

Until March this year, I was commuting for up to 90 minutes morning and night.  I'd been working at the site for several months before I realised they served porridge in the canteen.  Seeing as I had to leave before 6am to be at work on time; I never had breakfast before I left home.  It was such a joy then when the canteen opened and a steaming dish full of thick porridge went onto the counter.

The portions were huge as well.  Way too big for me really but I normally finished it anyway and ended up having the smallest snack at lunchtime.  That's the great thing about oats, they fill you up.

So, this is a more sensibly sized portion for me but my son (at the age of 3) being a lover of oats would probably eat the same amount.  Increase or decrease accordingly (and you might need to change the microwave instructions too.)

Microwave Porridge Oats - Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup, 40g, 1.4oz Porridge Oats - use confirmed wheat free oats if suffering from a gluten allergy*
1 cup, 220ml, 8 fl oz Milk (use full fat for under 2 year olds)

To serve
Honey (over 1's only), brown sugar, cinnamon, golden syrup (optional)

Method

In a large jug, mix the oats and milk.

Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, stir then microwave for 3 more minutes.  You might need to decrease or increase the cooking time depending on the power of your microwave and how old it is (they tend to lose power over time).  Make sure it's bubbling and thick before serving.

Allow to cool, even for adults a little cooling time is needed (it somehow ends up molten!)  Add a little cold milk if needed to children's portions to speed this up or if you like it a bit thinner anyway.  Just add the milk and whisk it in.

Serve with one of the topping options if liked!  (No honey for the under 1s though please.)

This is great for babies who are starting to be on more coarse and mashed foods, i.e. from the age of 6 months.  Also because it's pretty sticky, it's a great food to start self feeding with, either with hands or with a spoon.  Messy but lots of fun!

After my posts about food thrift last week, it's well worth remembering that you can buy a kilo of porridge oats for 75p and 4 pints, 2.27L of milk for £1.  Microwave cooking is very low in energy usage so the total cost of this breakfast, even topped with a tsp of golden syrup (at an additional 2 pence) is less than 15p.  Even if you're not choosing to be thrifty, that's surely a good thing!

Keep an eye out on my posts for a "Make it Thrifty" comment at the end.  I'm going to start this with new and old posts so anyone on a limited budget can see how to adapt a recipe to make it cheaper to make.

*Note, although oats are naturally gluten free; there is inevitable cross contamination in the field between different grains.  You can get some oats which are confirmed as gluten free.  If you are on a gluten free diet, look out for these specifically.

I've linked this here.