(A precursor: I’m not planning to do exclusively porridge/oatmeal recipes. I am going to do recipes for non porridge things, I promise you. And reviews as well. Keep your eyes open.)

I’ve been obsessed with porridge for years and it has been an almost daily staple of mine.

I’ve followed porridge recipe websites, visited porridge cafes and dreamed of porridge.

Because of that, I’ve learnt how to make porridge/oatmeal/whatever you want to bloody call it, EXCITING!

Yes, SHOCK HORROR, porridge can be exciting!

It can be a reason to wake up. It can be a motivation to get out of bed (even if its to get back in after.)

Porridge is one of the reasons, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

It is CHEAP to make your porridge SEXY.

There are some extra additions, which admittedly are MORE expensive. But for the basics and for a lot of recipes, it is SO cheap. It just takes a few small things and a few bargain hunts. And wham BAM thank you Maam, your porridge is sexy!

So… on request of a friend, I’m going to share with you how to stock up your porridge cupboard and how to make your porridge TRULY SEXY (and cheaply, no pun intended).

I’ll break it down into sections to make it super simple. And put main points in BOLD.

Hopefully this will help you bring JOY to your porridge.

So let’s go started….

1) Oats

Now that’s the simple bit. OATS are so ridiculously cheap. They’re like 60p from Lidl/Aldi. And the basic stuff from any supermarket…. they are just as cheap. I bought 1kg of oats from Lidl in November and I’m still using that bag. One portion is 45g, so it lasts; lasts much longer than any cereal/granola. And because it is a slow release carbohydrate, it lasts longer in your stomach. It gives you more energy and keeps you fuller longer.

It is a wonder! And so versatile!

Every day you can have a completely different flavour to keep boredom at bay.

You can go for thick rolled oats (for a chunkier texture), fine porridge oats, pinhead oats (grainier texture), sprouted oats (health benefits).

Start off simply with bog standard scottish porridge oats and go from there.

2) Fruit/Veg

How much does a banana cost? Less than 10p. Mash it up into your porridge as a natural sweetener. Slice it and top your porridge with honey or peanut butter or cinnamon or chocolate. Slice and fry in a pan, you have caramelised banana porridge.

How much does an apple cost? Around 12p. Slice it cold, put it on top of your porridge with yoghurt and you have a refreshing addition to your porridge. Stew it in cinnamon and water, and you have apple pie porridge.

In the supermarket, fruit is discounted on a regular basis depending on the season. Plums and cranberries in winter. Figs and persimmons in autumn. Strawberries and raspberries in Summer. Etc… Etc…Etc… If you visit a shop like Lidl/Aldi, Fruit is so cheap. You can stock up on fruit and veg and spend well under £10. Frozen fruit and frozen smoothie mixes are also very inexpensive and last for ages. Stirred into a hot porridge they become soft like a coulis or compote.

Also tinned fruit. If you like things sweet, tinned fruit is very cheap.

Vegetables can also be a great addition. Grated courgette/zucchini adds extra fibre and keeps you fuller. Grated carrot can make any porridge into carrot cake oatmeal or carrot halwa oatmeal. Roast butternut squash in maple syrup as a topping. Tinned pumpkin is very low in price and VOILA you have pumpkin pie oatmeal.

3) Protein

It is important, in order to sustain a full stomach and to boost your energy levels, to match a slow release carbohydrate like porridge with a protein.

In the same way that eggs on toast is a fantastic breakfast. A combination of protein and carbs.

A jar of Peanut Butter is the SIMPLEST AND SEXIEST addition to any porridge. I remember 7 years ago, friends used to laugh at me when I put peanut butter in my porridge.But now everyone is doing it! Basics peanut butter (albeit laden with alot more sugar) is cheap and packed full of protein and GOOD FAT.

Or you can do what I do. I am a BARGAIN hunter. As soon as a peanut butter like Whole Earths (using no added sugar) goes on offer, I BUY IT. I look out for discounts on Pip and Nut and Meridian. I search for sales on almond, cashew, hazelnut, EVERY BLOODY NUT BUTTER. I bought a jar of pistachio cream and hazelnut cream from a local Eastern European Discount store for 99p each. Poundland and other discount stores sell cashews, almonds and loads of other nuts and seeds for just £1. You can buy a big bag of nuts and seeds from Holland and Barrett or the supermarket and it will last you for months.

4) Liquid

I’m lactose intollerant and experimenting with veganism so I use exclusively plant based milks.

I tend to stick with ones low in sugar like soya milk (unsweetened) and oat milk.

However if I’m wanting a bit of extra sweetness, I’ll use hazelnut, cashew or almond.

I buy WHAT IS ON OFFER. This keeps costs down to a minimum.

When putting liquid into my oats, I never use exclusively milk. I always add water. Sometimes half and half. Sometimes three quarters milk, one quarter water. This means that the milk lasts longer; cost effective. And also I like the taste better like that. If I want a really creamy, indulgent tasting porridge, I will use all milk.

This is NOT a way of counting calories, this is a way of making milk last longer.

You can also use cows, goats, sheep milk. You could also try coconut cream, coconut milk or fruit juice.

But for basics, go for one plant based milk which is on offer.

5) Spices

You wouldn’t eat a piece of tofu or chicken without any seasoning.

That would be bland and boring.

So why do it to your porridge?

You can buy spices from Tiger, or Poundland or any supermarket for cheap. Cinnamon, is a given. A natural blood sugar stabilizer, it is naturally sweet and spicy. Gingerbread porridge, apple pie poridge, pecan pie porridge, mexican chilli chocolate oats, can all be made with cinnamon. Ginger. Ground or fresh. Chocolate ginger porridge, rhubarb and ginger crumble porridge, turmeric ginger porridge.

I won’t go on and on about spices but I recommend cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg, turmeric, cocoa or cacao powder and crushed chillis or chilli powder (trust me).

( I’m going to do some recipes soon which shows how easily you can tart up your porridge with spices. )

6) Extras

Okay, so these are the ones that could possibly be a little more expensive. Buttttt…. Don’t have to be. And I promise they are not all mumbo jumbo, powder of the Pib Pib tree and breath of a unicorn nonsense.

This Christmas, browsing through Holland and Barrett, I saw that Cacao and Maca Powder were on offer at £2 each. So I bought them. And there is still loads left. Look out for discounts in Holland and Barrett, Wholefoods and Planet Organic.

Aldi is selling cacao, baobab, maca, cacao nibs, chia seeds all VERY CHEAPLY. They have amazing health benefits but also taste delicious. They don’t taste like nonsense, I promise you. Throw away your cynicism and trust me. Maca has a caramelly, sweet, tart taste.

Protein powders are also a fantastic shout. I recently bought MissFits Vegan Salted Caramel Protein powder for £12.99 with some Christmas money from my local TK Maxx. That protein powder will last me for AGESSSSSS because I don’t use it every day. Check out TK Maxx for lots of extra goodies like spices, cacao, maca, protein powder, nuts, seeds and nut butters.

This is an extra boost of protein and full of flavour.

Now I recommend if you are looking into investing in protein powders, you look for ones using ‘Stevia’ as a sweetener. Stevia is a natural sweetener and isn’t cloying on the taste. It is also so much better for your health and digestive health. Alot of other sweeteners are not great for you. They can flare up IBS and other digestive issues. Companies like Macacha and MissFits use stevia and have great tastes like Vanilla, Cacao and Salted Caramel. They also mix in natural ingredients for mental, sexual and phsyical health.

7) Sweeteners

Now I personally, don’t tend to add sweetener to my porridge unless it’s the weekend. I don’t think it’s necessary and I find it spikes my energy and then I crash. It also makes me feel very hungry. So I tend to stay away from sugar in the morning.

Bananas are a natural sweetener. So is cinnamon. Blueberries are low in sugar (I’m also obsessed with them) and they naturally sweeten any porridge.

However, sometimes you do need that sugar. And a lot of people have a sweeter taste.

I recommend sweeteners that are more natural. Like maple syrup or honey. But they can be more expensive. Dark Muscovado sugar is also brilliant and has a deep caramelly taste.

I would URGE you to avoid pure white sugar. Stay away from the white stuff!

Some of my Scottish family, swear by golden syrup and black treacle, but again, for the morning, you are just going to send your energy crashing. So try and avoid.

8) Salt.

When you make a good cocktail, it becomes perfect, with the balancing of flavours.

A manhattan becomes a MANHATTAN because you add vermouth which is SWEET and bitters because they are slightly sweet and obviously.. BITTER. Both those things balance out the strong taste of the whisky.

The same is true of ANY cocktail.

It’s all about the balancing of flavours.

THE SAME IS TRUE OF PORRIDGE.

Add a dash of salt to your porridge and you balance out sweet flavours and bring out the depth of flavours, you have added. This may sound like utter nonsense, but I will PREACH THIS FROM THE ROOFTOPS. No porridge is complete without a small pinch of salt.

Take your time making your porridge.

If I know I have to be out the door, I give myself 1 and a half hours to get up.

Just set your alarm earlier so you aren’t rushing around causing yourself stress and upping your anxiety levels.

This gives me time, to take my time at breakfast.

I know this isn’t always reasonable or achievable but a lot of porridges take less than 5 mins to make and having that extra bit of peace in the morning can do wonders for your mental health.

I sit down quietly, with a hot bowl of porridge and a cup of coffee and I check in with myself.

Or try to.

Albeit this is harder right now for me, but try and give yourself that time to indulge, relax and be at peace.

Take your time making the porridge and take your time eating it.

I hope you this brings JOY to your porridge.

Much love,

Joy xx