Autumn Power Porridge in Spring

It's not autumn, well not in Australia at least, but there I was no way that I could wait 6 months til it was autumn here again to try this porridge. After all it has multiple ingredients that speak to me. Pumpkin. Porridge. Pumpkin pie spice. Delicious flavours at any time of year.

Australians love pumpkin. We have it available fresh year round. And we cook it and eat it year round. It's not available here canned, and the idea seems rather odd to us. Pumpkin soup. Roast pumpkin. On pizza. In salads. I make a particularly delicious pumpkin pasta sauce.  But I'd never heard of or thought about Pumpkin Porridge- til now.

It's difficult finding the GI rating for pumpkin. Butternut pumpkin is listed as 51 in my Low GI Diet Shoppers Guide, and pumpkin generally as 66 on GI news, which is a wonderful go to source for GI information.

Porridge made from Uncle Toby's traditional oats seems to have a GI of 58. The range for porridge is quite vast, but essentially for the lowest GI options you should use traditional rolled oats or steel cut oats (these are difficult to find in Australia). The quick cook/microwave sachets are best avoided as they don't taste nearly as good, and they are high GI.

Quinoa is a low GI (51), gluten free superfood. It's become very available in the past few years, and is a common supermarket item now. You don't need to go searching in dusty healthy food shops to find it anymore. It's available in a range of colours, I used the white one today.

Autumn Power Porridge

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tblsp agave syrup
Dried cranberries
Walnut pieces
Milk of your choosing, I've been using oat milk recently, but have just learnt that it is (high) medium GI of 69

Combine oats, quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Cook on stovetop over low to medium heat until cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Stir through pumpkin and spices.

Serve in bowls, add cranberries, walnuts, drizzle with agave syrup. Add milk.

Serves 2

Notes

I simplified the recipe, just cooking the pumpkin before hand, and then cooking the oats and quinoa together. I adjusted the quantities too, as there was noone else at home this day to help me eat it- well, Mr Adventures refused my generous offer to share.

I was anxious about the quinoa in the porridge. I've only made quinoa into a porridge once before, and it was an Abject Failure. Awful. And there was a tonne of it. I ended up feeding it to the dogs! It was much better here, but I'd probably increase the oats to quinoa ratio for my tastes next time.

You could easily put in more pumpkin, and spices- but then I am rather heavy handed with the spices, I'd already increased the quantity from the original recipe. I used some of the pumpkin pie spice I'd made recently.

To me this recipe is crying out for maple syrup instead of the agave, but somehow I had none in the fridge! This situation can not be allowed to continue.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a fabulous weekly meme at Beth Fish Reads.

Rhubarb Maple Porridge

I do love porridge. It's so warming, so filling, so delicious. I look forward to the winter months and frequent porridge. Happily I've got my 10 year old hooked on porridge too. It took a bit of work when he was younger but now he sees it as a definite treat.

I know some people eat it year round, but I just can't do that. For many years I didn't experiment with my porridge too much. I tinkered with the grains a bit, and occasionally made a dried fruit compote to put on top.  I just love Bill Granger's Banana Porridge- it's magic, but I usually only make it once or twice a year. I generally made standard porridge with brown sugar and milk on top. But now I'm branching out, and becoming more adventurous in my old age. One day I just happened to have some of my famous Baked Rhubarb in the fridge. I'm sure this is how most new recipes are made- you're making something, look around, see another ingredient, and think "why not?".

Porridge is a low GI superfood. Porridge made from traditional rolled oats has a GI of 42. But you need to be wary of the packs of instant porridge- the GI soars to 82. There are many other health benefits to porridge too- lots of fibre, good for intestinal health, it's rich in beta-glucan which is a soluble fibre that helps lower cholesterol re-absorption.

Porridge is so quick and simple to make. You can even pop it on the stove on a low heat, get in the shower and it's ready when you get out, perfect for a getting ready for work breakfast- there is no need to use the instant packets, which never taste as good anyway. This is my current favourite porridge incarnation.

Rhubarb Maple Porridge

1/2 cup oats per person
1 cup water per person (sometimes I put in a splodge more, if you like it thicker or thinner then adjust the fluid)
Baked rhubarb, warmed or your favourite topping
A drizzle of Canadian maple syrup
Milk of your choice to top

Add oats and water to a small non-stick pan. Stir. Put over a low heat (if you want to go have your shower), or a medium heat if you can give it any attention. Stir as frequently as your showering plans allow.

When done to your desired consistency, tip porridge into a bowl, added warmed baked rhubarb, a drizzle of Canadian maple syrup and some milk.

Porridge doesn't photograph all that well, I'm happy to admit, but it does taste delicious

Notes
I currently use either soy or goat milk usually, the goat milk doesn't go well with the rhubarb

Bircher Muesli

On a recent trip to Sydney, The Professor offered to make me some bircher muesli. Now, I've never been a fan of bircher muesli, it's a textural thing mostly, but I haven't really had any for years, and have probably only ever had awful supermarket versions and didn't think I'd ever had any homemade especially for me by a bircher fan. And I must admit to being somewhat intrigued by the process.

What follows is more a process than a recipe. But it is a rather low key way to enjoy a low GI breakfast. No cooking, just a bit of swishing about in a bowl and adding fruit.

Traditional rolled oats are a wonderful low GI (42) source of nutrition. You do need to be careful and generally avoid the instant oats as these are quite high GI.


Rolled oats
Cloudy apple juice
Slivered almonds
Grated green apple
Handful blueberries
Plain yoghurt to blend
A drizzle of pure floral honey (not a blended honey, which is higher GI)

Place rolled oats into a serving bowl. Add cloudy apple juice to soak. Cover. Leave overnight.
In the morning, add fruit, nuts and yoghurt to taste.

Apple juice is low GI (but energy dense). Cloudy apple juice has more antioxidants than regular apple juice. Which is I'm sure why my sister had it on standby.

Grated homegrown apple

The finished result

So. Am I a convert? No. Not really.  It wasn't awful by any stretch, and I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to try it again, but still, I have an issue with the texture of bircher muesli that I just don't think that I can overcome. I think I'd stick with regular muesli or porridge any day. 

Sonoma Spelt Maple and Almond Breakfast Muesli

I have long been on a quest for the perfect muesli, and after eating this fabulous example I'm left wondering if I've found it! I stumbled on this accidentally on a recent trip to Sydney. It was lurking in a rather humid and murky health food shop in Randwick. I was immediately intrigued. But vaguely disconcerted by the $14 price tag, for the 500gm bag.

It sounded great. Had a wonderful ingredient list full of recognisable stuff! Oats, spelt, maple syrup, almonds, raisins, sunflower oil, vanilla. Wow. All actual foods. All low GI ingredients. I must be in heaven. Made by an artisanal bakery, Sonoma, in Sydney. I've had their breads before in fancy restaurants and been very impressed.

So how is it? It smells fantastic- full of warm, caramelly aromas- such a shame blogs aren't scratch and sniff

Not stingy with the nuts either

I was lucky the week or so I was eating this (and I think their serving size of 125gm is just crazy, I would have eaten half that- making it almost cheap) in that I had an abundance of figs and blueberries to have on my muesli, making it even more delicious.

Life imitating art, or at least packaging

I'm looking forward to stocking up on more of this on a future trip to Sydney, and also checking out their Honey Spice Muesli.

Be Natural Cashew, Almond, Hazelnut and Coconut

I always get excited when I see a new cereal proudly proclaiming it's low GI status. I'm much more of a cereal for breakfast gal than a toast for gal breakfast. I'm often quite happy to eat the one cereal for years, but I will certainly try a new one (there is always the hope for the next best thing).

So I was quite excited to spy the new Be Natural range lurking on the supermarket shelves. Recycled packaging, a promise to support Landcare. All very good and responsible corporate citizenship designed to appeal to people like me.

But what of the cereal itself? Flakes made from five whole grains (wheat, oats, triticale, barley and rye,  indeed whole grain cereals make up 49% of the ingredients), mixed with  cashew, almond, hazelnut, coconut, and clusters made from linseed, pepita (pumpkin seed), and amaranth (a newish food to me, a grain touted for it's high protein content). It all sounds Frightfully Good For You, but is it?

It is Low GI. This is proudly proclaimed on the front of the pack, but I can't find the actual GI rating amongst the maze of fine print all over the sides of the pack. It is hidden on the website. 54. So just sneaking in as Low GI, but still low GI all the same. The ingredients are all recognisable food substances. There are no numbers. Which is fabulous.

Given that there's a fair amount (11%) of nuts in the cereal it isn't exactly low energy. 1790kJ per 100 gram, with 13.4gm of fat per 100gm. It is quite low in sodium (190mg per 100gm), and one serve provides only 4% of an average recommended daily intake.

But how does it taste? Well, it's ok. I'm not the greatest fan of flake type cereals, corn flakes for instance. And the flakes here a bit cardboardy. The clusters are quite tasty by themselves, but there's  not quite enough of them to drown out the cardboard quality coming from the flakes.

It is quite edible when smothered with blueberry and banana- but then what isn't?

I will probably try the apple version of this cereal at some stage, and they have a low GI mixed grain porridge that I will try when the weather turns cooler- which can't be too far away, I'm already noticing some red and yellow highlights to the trees.

Breakfast Boost

It seems that breakfast cereals are not healthy enough in and of themselves (and why do we let them get away with that??), and so there exists a wide range of products to boost the nutrition in what I should have thought would be a nutritious food. In my quest for better eating I've boldly gone into this Breakfast Boosting world.

It's fair to say that I haven't eaten all that much linseed in my life. I went through a phase a few years ago of eating soy and linseed bread. I didn't mind it. In fact I got to prefer it (especially with nutella) to other breads. But linseeds aren't a food that features all that much in the typical Australian diet. 

The linseed or flax plant has beautiful blue flowers, and must look glorious to see a field in bloom. The seed is said to have many health benefits. The front of my pack lists

-omega 3

-low carb

-low GI

-nil trans fat

-alkaline food

-gluten free

-brain development

-helps burn body fat

-rich source of daily fibre

-cholesterol free

-promotes positive mood

-promote healthy cardiovascular system

With more benefits on the back. I don't know whether all these claims are true, but even so, it can't be a bad thing for us to eat now, can it? I do like the concept of eating many, varied foods in a day- there have been many names for this- such as rainbow diet- which I think is a great concept, and easy to judge your success by even the quickest of glances at a plate- how many colours? I even read an article a few years ago that suggested we need to eat 31 different plants a day- I tried that for a few days- it's really hard!

So I decided to give Breakfast Boost a crack. My pack suggests that I should have two tablespoons daily on cereal, toast (?), in salads, as a dessert topping, or mixed in fruit juice, yoghurt or protein drinks. I know that they're trying to get me to use lots of their product and that's fine, but I just don't find the on toast option appealing at all, and I really don't like gritty things in drinks, so I'm unlikely to do that. Happy to put stuff on my cereal though. 

 I found the two tablespoons a bit much, and so have been putting a tablespoon on my cereal each morning, and then topping it with fruits, including my beloved baked rhubarb, and whatever else I may have about the house. In the last few weeks I've been adding cinnamon and ginger too. There isn't a lot of taste truth be told, to me it seems to add more of a textural component to my bowl of cereal (but not in a bad way).

I've nearly eaten the whole packet now. I should perhaps try it in some other format, although I'm happy enough with it on my cereal. Have I noticed any particular change that could be attributable to my increased consumption of linseed? Well, no. Still, I feel that it's likely to be good for me, and I'll try more of the Lively Linseed products in the future- they do a Blueberry Breakfast Boost, and I've started to see their biscuits around too.

Crunchy Granola Suite 2- Spicy Pear Gingergbread Muesli

It's taken me a while to get to posting this. I've made this muesli twice now. The first time was disappointing, which was very sad, perhaps I expected too much of it. I made a few mistakes with the first attempt. I tried cooking it with the oven fan on- not a good idea, it was much too dark, almost burnt- don't do it. I didn't put enough spice in, and I actually found the sugar a bit much. 

So, this time, I've cut back the sugar and ramped up the spices. I love gingerbread, and was keen to try to flavour a muesli this way. I have a wonderful Herbie's spice mix- Quartre Epices Sweet that helped with the genesis of this idea. A heady mix of allspice, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. I love the warm spiciness of those wonderful, flavourful aromas of gingerbread and it's relatives like pain d'epices and speculaas. The other muse for my muesli making exploits was Wayfaring Chocolate, who makes a mean looking muesli when she's not wayfaring, or scarfing down chocolate (although she insists on calling it granola)

• 2  cups  rolled oats (not instant)
• 2/3 cup rolled barley
• 1 cup (120g) pepitas
• 1  (20mL) Logicane Low GI sugar
• 3 tblsp (60mL) golden syrup
• 1 tblsp (20mL) sesame oil
• 1 tblsp (20mL) canola oil
• 1 tsp quatre epices- sweet (allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2/3 cup (140g) dried pears, rehydrated, drained, and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Mix oats, barley and pepitas in a bowl.

2. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the sugar, molasses, sesame and canola oils, and spices. Tip the oats and pepitas into the wet ingredients and stir well to combine.

3. Spread the mix onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes,  take out and stir  to avoid its edges burning.

4. Add  the chopped pears and stir through, then put muesli back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes, until starting to look toasted. Remember, the muesli will crisp up as it cools.

5. Eat multiple handfuls from the baking tray as the muesli cools.

Notes

Barley is very low GI, in fact one of the lowest GI foods. Sadly rolled barley is moderate GI, but I still have more than half a packet in the cupboard, so it needs to be used up. And the overall GI should still be low.

Last time the moisture from the rehydrated pears kept the muesli soggy instead of delightfully crisp. But the texture of the pears was much improved, so I hydrated them again, and then baked them separately, and stored them separately, and just put some on each morning for breakfast. 

I particularly love cinnamon and can't usually get enough of it. So I added some extra. And a touch of ginger- I can't believe I didn't think to add it the first time. I've had this a few days now for breakfast and I think next time I'll add even more spice- it's not quite there yet for me. 


I've used golden syrup in this twice now, and despite me thinking that it would be Fantastic, you don't get much of a note from it. I think I will try another syrup next time- molasses or treacle perhaps. I've got a rather large jar of treacle lurking in the back of the pantry. It's always fun to find a use for something that has otherwise been rendered useless. 

Crunchy Granola Suite

A recipe so good it has it's own theme music. I just can't think of granola without thinking Crunchy Granola Suite. Perhaps Neil Diamond's Crunchy Granola Suite and indeed his whole Hot August Night is so old and daggy that it's cool again? Perhaps Neil Diamond was never cool.

I'm more a cereal than toast for breakfast kind of gal. I've been happily eating store bought cereal for years. My current favourite is lovely, but only available now at one supermarket in town that I don't normally go to. A few days ago, Hannah disrupted this state of zen with her Spiced Fig, Pepita and Molassess Granola. Since then I've been plotting when to make it and thinking about how I would adapt it. Not that her recipe doesn't sound fab. It does. I just want to make it more low GI. Whilst she is young enough to chase the tall dark and handsome granolas of her dreams, I'm more after a midlle-aged quiet, low GI soul muesli. After all if you're going to go to the trouble of making your own muesli, you may as well tweak it and make it just like you want it.

Glorious Sunday Morning Low GI Maple Apple Muesli

• 2 2/3 cups (240g) rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup (120g) pepitas
• 2 1/2 tblsp (50mL) Logicane Low GI sugar
• 2 tsp (10mL) maple sugar
• 3 tblsp (60mL) maple syrup
• 1 tblsp (20mL) sesame oil
• 1 tblsp (20mL) canola oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2/3 cup (140g) dried apples, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Mix oats and pepitas in a bowl.
2. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the sugar, molasses, sesame oil, spices, and almond extract. Tip the oats and pepitas into the wet ingredients and stir well to combine.
3. Spread the mix onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes,  take out and stir  to avoid its edges burning.
4. Add  the chopped apples and stir through, then put muesli back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes, until starting to look toasted. Remember, the muesli will crisp up as it cools.
5. Eat multiple handfuls from the baking tray as the muesli cools.

Notes

I have some fabulous Canadian maple syrup (low GI 54!) in the fridge, and a packet of maple sugar that a lovely friend sent me from Canada. So I had to make use of those. I don't know the gi of the maple sugar, so only replaced some of the low Gi sugar with it. The GI of molasses is unknown but predicted to be about the same as sugar (which is only a moderate 60). Figs are medium GI, whilst dried apples are an astonishing low GI treat with a GI of 29.

I was chicken and didn't want to double the sesame oil from the original, so I used half sesame oil, half canola. It's the right balance for me. 

The whole house fills with a delicious spicy aroma with this in the oven

It is delicious- particularly at step 5.

I'm looking forward to gobbling this batch up so I can make another and use a special spice mix I've got burning a hole in my pantry. 

Baked Rhubarb

Rhubarb is one of those Love It Or Hate It foods. Thankfully I'm happily in the Love It camp. And it's low GI. Well rhubarb itself is actually so low in carbohydrate as to be no GI! Although I do love it, I too must add some sweeteners to make it totally delicious.

Rhubarb is traditionally flavoured with orange juice, but for some reason I really don't like cooked orange all that much (there are some exceptions), and I really don't like the orange/rhubarb combo. So for many years I've experimented with different flavourings and sweeteners for my rhubarb. I prefer to use some maple syrup (how can that actually be low GI, but so glad it is!) and in the past have used concentrated apple juice (I'm not sure of the GI here, and since my bottle was long expired, I decided to avoid it when I made this the other day). You can also throw in some grated ginger, or do a mixture of fruits such as apple or pear (I haven't tried that yet, but it should work, indeed I've just thought of it now and want to try it).

It's so easy you don't really need a recipe, it's more just a method. If your rhubarb stems are different thicknesses then cut the thinner ones in longer pieces, and the thicker stems in shorter pieces so that they all cook in about the same time.

Rhubarb can be cooked on the stove or in the microwave, but I much prefer to bake it. Rhubarb holds its shape and colour much better if it's baked rather than stewed on the stove top, and I prefer to see the wonderful pieces of rhubarb rather than a mush of red strings.


Baked Rhubarb

1 bunch rhubarb, leaves removed, stems chopped
Maple syrup to drizzle
2 tsp LoGiCane sugar
1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Bake in a moderate oven (180C/350F) about 15-20 minutes (or until you can smell a delicious aroma drifting out of the oven).

There are lots of ways to enjoy this. I like it on my morning cereal for breakfast- by itself or with other fruits if I have them, it goes nicely with berries or banana, and of course tastes fantastic with cinnamon sprinkled on,

or with yoghurt (plain, vanilla, strawberry) for dessert or a snack.