Raw Banana Oatmeal Porridge

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There’s nothing quite like starting a cold winter’s day with a warm, hearty breakfast.

And around here, the mornings have become very wintry!

It’s gone below zero a couple of times this week, and that’s very unusual for Melbourne.

So my raw banana oatmeal porridge has become my breakfast staple. And I’m glad about that.

It’s fast, it’s easy and there’s nothing to prepare in advance. And it’s oh so satisfying.

What’s more, you can make it for one, or you can make it for everyone, with almost no more effort.

Did I mention that it’s warm?

Serving it warm is the key to making this appetising on cold, frosty days, and pre-warming your bowls makes it even nicer.

Just make sure nothing gets TOO hot. (I’ll give you a simple tip, if you touch it and it hurts your hand, it’s too hot.)

Which means that I’ve finally found a use for my oven, the one kitchen appliance I almost never use these days, so it usually just sits around gathering dust.

Of course, you can top your raw porridge with whatever you like.

I’ve used maple syrup, sultanas and bananas, and at the moment I’m adding a bunch of chopped fresh fruit, including apple, banana, kiwifruit and grapes.

The sky really is the limit with this incredibly adaptable recipe.

And being based on oats and bananas, with only a small amount of cashews and flax meal, it’s also relatively low in fat.

Which is surprising, given how hearty and satisfying it is.

And of course, you can always leave the cashews and flax out altogether, that’s how awesomely forgiving this recipe is.

Time to make yourself some raw banana oatmeal porridge for breakfast?

Mmmmmm, warm porridge.

Raw Banana Oatmeal Porridge

This quick raw banana oatmeal porridge uses dates, bananas and oats with flaxmeal and cashews to create a warm, hearty, satisfying raw breakfast.

5 from 1 vote

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Category: Breakfast

Cuisine: Raw, Vegan, Wholefoods

Tags: dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free, salt-free, soy-free, sugar-free

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes: 1 serve

Calories per serve: 509kcal

Author: Nikki, Eating Vibrantly

Ingredients

• 1 med banana (100g)
• 1 med medjool date , pitted
• 1 tbsp cashews (10g) [optional, makes it creamier]
• 1/2 cup water (125g)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (50g)
• 2 tsp flaxseed / linseed meal (4g) [optional, adds healthy fats]
• 2 tbsp rolled oats extra
• 2 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar, coconut nectar or yacon syrup [optional, to serve]
• 2 tsp sultanas / golden raisins [optional, to serve]
• 10 slices banana [optional, to serve]

Method

• Blend the banana, date, cashews and water until warm, but not hot. (This takes around 2 minutes in a Vitamix for 1 serve.)
• While this blends, pre-warm your bowl(s) in the oven for a couple of minutes.
• Add oats and flax to the blender and blend until smooth.
• Put the extra oats into the bottom of your pre-warmed breakfast bowl,
• Pour blended porridge over oats and mix thoroughly.
• Leave to sit for 5 minutes or so to allow oats to soften (while you clean up).
• Top with a drizzle of maple syrup, the sultanas and banana slices.

Preparation

• Before: -
• During: 10 mins
• After: -
• Need: Blender, oven (optional)

Nutrition Information

Serving: 380g; Calories: 509kcal; Carbohydrates: 101g; Protein: 11.9g; Fat: 10.1g; Saturated Fat: 1.7g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 3.8g; Sodium: 14.9mg; Potassium: 1055mg; Fiber: 13.2g; Sugar: 40.7g; Vitamin A: 150IU; Vitamin C: 18.2mg; Calcium: 120mg; Iron: 4.1mg

Tips

• Because this recipe is for one serve, it’s super easy to scale it up to feed more people. I routinely make it for two (no, I still haven’t sold the kids on “blender porridge”), and you might be able to fit as many as 6 serves in a big blender jug, but you will need to allow more time for the blender to warm the mix up.
• It’s always best to use ripe bananas, and in this recipe they impart an extra sweetness to the porridge.
• You can adjust the amount of cashews to suit your tastebuds and preferences. They are entirely optional, but I did find that even such a small amount added a nice creaminess to the porridge. And if you like your porridge extra creamy, go ahead and add even more.
• This porridge comes out not too thick and not too thin, but if you like your porridge super thick, just reduce the amount of water. Or if you like a runny porridge, you can either add extra water to the blender, or thin it afterwards with some water or raw nut milk (for even extra tastiness).
• If you want this recipe to be gluten-free, make sure you use gluten-free rolled oats. And if you’d like it to be grain-free, you could try using rolled quinoa, although I haven’t tried this one myself (yet).
• The flaxmeal is entirely optional. It does help to thicken the porridge slightly, but mostly I added it to balance out the Omega 6 fats in the oats and cashews with lots of Omega 3 fats. And besides, flax is good for you!
• The extra rolled oats help to add back some texture to the porridge, which I find helps with the mouth feel. In other words, without the unblended oats, the texture of the porridge is a bit dull.
• You can top your raw banana oatmeal porridge with anything you like, or you can just eat it plain. It really is entirely up to you, so get creative and try some things. Here are some of my favourite options:
  • Maple syrup (or your favourite liquid sweetener)
  • Raisins/sultanas and (another) banana, sliced
  • Chopped apple, banana, kiwifruit and grapes
• To pre-warm my bowls (which are thick ceramic ones), I turn on my gas oven to 200-220°C, with the bowls already in there, and then I turn it off again after just two minutes. So as the oven warms up, so do my bowls, I also use as little gas as possible, and the bowls don’t get overly hot (although I still need an oven mitt to get them out safely). And then they sit on the bench cooling for just a little bit while I add the extra rolled oats and serve up the porridge. By the time they get to the table, they’re the perfect temperature.
• If you don’t want to use your oven to pre-warm your bowls, you can:
  • Fill them with warm (or hot) water and let them sit, and then empty and dry them before using
  • Put your bowls in your dehydrator (on high if possible) for half an hour or so
  • Put them over a heating vent for 15 minutes or more (just don’t let your dog lick them while they’re down there)

My inspiration

The idea for this recipe was born partly from a desire for a warm raw breakfast, but also from Kemi Nekvapil’s raw pecan porridge on her “Add More Raw” DVD, which I love.

When I came up with this recipe, I’d been under the weather for 3 weeks. Yuck!

I’ve tried nut-based porridges before but generally I find them too rich, so I had the idea of using bananas as the base for my raw porridge instead, and I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out.

But it’s was SO nice having raw comfort food like my raw banana and oat porridge to keep me going.

And it’s so quick and easy…

Serving it warm is the key to making this nourishing on cold, snotty days, and pre-warming your bowls (finally, a use for my oven!) makes it even nicer. (Just make sure nothing gets TOO hot.)

Mmmmmm, warm and raw.

Maybe winter isn’t so bad after all.

I hope you enjoy it.

Have an awesome day!