chocolate orange porridge

chocolate orange porridge

I’m already having to swerve the temptation of chocolate oranges and all the other Christmas treats at the supermarket. I’m not ready to start Christmas indulgence yet – I leave that until a week before the big day. But I do love that chocolate orange combo so I try and work that into what I’m eating as early as I can. This chocolate orange porridge is my early Christmas gift to you!

healthy chocolate orange porridge for breakfast

This breakfast is fast, healthy, child-approved and has the combination of chocolate and orange that feels like it should be dessert.

The ingredients do all sound a bit health food aisle but don’t let that put you off. Embrace all the goodness you’ll be getting.

Sending my boys off to school with a bowl of this inside them sets them up much better for the day than a bowl of something from a packet and its hardly any more work. The proteins from the almond butter and chia seeds will keep them full and they balance out the natural sugars so that they don’t get sugar spikes.

I usually make a bigger batch of this and just microwave a couple of scoops of it in the morning. It is a good afternoon pick me up too.

To make enough chocolate orange porridge for 4 large breakfast portions…

  1. Put a big bowl on a digital measuring scale and dump in all these ingredients:
  • 3 cups (300g) rolled oats. I prefer the texture of jumbo rolled oats (old fashioned oats in the US). Buy gluten free oats if you’re making this for someone who can’t have gluten.
  • 1 tablespoon (10g) good quality cocoa powder or cacao (raw cocoa powder)
  • 3 tablespoons (30g) chia seeds
  • 3 and a half cups (850ml) water, use boiling water to speed things up
  • 4-6 medjool dates, stones removed and snipped into small strips using scissors
  • quarter of a teaspoon sea salt

2. Stir well and then microwave for around 4 minutes, until the oats have soaked up the water and you have a thick porridge texture. I don’t stir half way through but the first time you make it, check it after 3 minutes as microwave power can vary.

3. Once you’re happy with the texture, use a Microplane to zest a large orange over the bowl. Then cut the orange in half and juice it. Add the juice to the bowl along with real maple syrup. Depending on how sweet you like things you’ll need more or less syrup. I usually use 3 tablespoons for the full amount of porridge.

4. Stir well and then serve with a blob of almond, cashew or peanut butter and some sliced banana on top. I always add a final sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes to mine too. Sometimes I add a little extra orange zest to the top too.

5. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 5 days and reheated as needed.

Equipment

You can now buy the equipment I use in this recipe through my shop. I’ve spent years testing my favourite bits of equipment so rest-assured that whatever I recommend is the best tool for the job and will give you great results without cluttering your kitchen with unused tools. I receive a small affiliate fee from Amazon if you buy via my link. The products don’t cost you any more. These small fees help me keep creating all the free content I share.

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