Spiced Pear & Pecan Polyphenol Porridge

Porridge doesn’t have to be boring; in fact, it can be a real treat. And while oats are healthy by default, this version has extra layers of benefits:

You will need

Per person:

• 1 cup milk (your choice what kind; we recommend almond for this)
• ½ cup oats
• 1 pear, peeled, cored, and sliced
• ¼ cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 2 tbsp goji berries
• 1 tsp sweet cinnamon

Method

(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

1) Soak the goji berries in a small amount of hot water. If you have an espresso cup or something of a similar size, that’s a great “bowl” for this task. A ramekin will suffice, otherwise, but use only as much water as is absolutely necessary to cover the goji berries (excess water will just leech polyphenols from the berries, reducing their nutritional value).

2) Combine the pear and cinnamon in a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of water, and simmer for 5 minutes.

3) Combine the oats and milk in a separate saucepan (we imagine you know how to make porridge, but we’d be remiss to not include the step), and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring as necessary.

4) Drain the goji berries and the pear, if there is water remaining outside of the fruits.

5) Assemble: we recommend the order: goji berries, porridge, pear, pecans.

Alternative method: simply layer everything in a slow cooker, in the following order: goji berries (no need to pre-soak), oats, milk (stir it a little to ensure oats are all wet), pear-dusted-with-cinnamon (no need to pre-cook), pecans. Put it on the lowest heat with the lid on, and leave for a couple of hours.

Alternative alternative method: layer everything as we just said, but this time in portions of 1 jar per person, and leave it overnight, per overnight oats. Then, in the morning, gently warm it (if you like) by putting it in the microwave (lid removed!) for 2 minutes on medium power.

These latter methods are increasingly better nutritionally, as they won’t wash away some of the polyphenols from the goji berries and the lower temperatures keep the glycemic index of the oats lower, but we appreciate you won’t always have the time to do it this way.

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

• The Best Kind Of Fiber For Overall Health? ← it’s β-glucan, as found in oats!
• Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
• Goji Berries: Which Benefits Do They Really Have?
• Sweet Cinnamon vs Regular Cinnamon – Which is Healthier? ← this is a very important distinction
• Make Overnight Oats Shorter Or Longer For Different Benefits!

Take care!