Porridge originally comes from Scotland, where it was mainly prepared with water. It was only over time that porridge with milk as a liquid component gained popularity. Porridge comes from the English language and means oatmeal, which is also called oatmeal in the USA.
Oats have many healthy benefits and thus contribute to a healthy diet and physical well-being. Eating healthily is one thing. However, oats are also particularly filling. This makes porridge a good choice for losing weight. The porridge keeps your blood sugar level constant for a long time, avoiding hunger pangs.
Are you already familiar with your calorie requirement? To lose weight healthily, it is important to know your calorie requirement. But what is healthier – porridge with milk or with water?
Calculate your calorie requirement now
Porridge is a great breakfast option for people with lactose intolerance or those who want to eat a vegan diet – because it is easy to enjoy porridge without lactose. This article will show you how to prepare your own delicious breakfast porridge using just water, and how you can refine it. We also have the perfect porridge recipe for you to try at home.
The easiest way to prepare porridge is definitely with water. This means you don't need to use liquids such as cow's milk or plant-based milk (such as almond milk, oat milk, etc.). All you have to do is follow 5 simple steps and you only need 3 ingredients. An advantage of preparing your breakfast porridge with water is that you can also save calories.
What's more, you can heat the water for your porridge in a variety of ways: in the microwave, on the stove or, most easily, with a kettle. So, you don't even need a stove to prepare porridge with water and the cooking time is really short.
Oats and what makes them so healthy
Of all the types of grain, oats are among the most valuable. Oats are mainly processed into flakes, flour or semolina. To produce oats, the grain of the oats is processed. In this process, the grains are cleaned and peeled. For coarse, crunchy oat flakes, it is sufficient to roll them out after steaming to create large flakes. On the other hand, finer, more delicate oat flakes, small flakes, are crushed before steaming.
Oats are not only delicious, but also an excellent source of nutrients of all kinds.
The biotin and zinc they contain have a positive effect on skin, hair and nails. 40 grams of oats are enough to cover your daily biotin requirement.
Oats naturally contain little gluten and can be labelled as gluten-free. Thanks to soluble fibres, the body achieves anti-inflammatory results.
In addition, oats contain vitamins such as vitamins B1 and B6. These vitamins help you to sleep better and healthier and prevent dizziness and neurological disorders.
Other healthy benefits of oats include the fact that they can lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and contain unsaturated fatty acids.
If you thought that was it in terms of health benefits, you couldn't be more wrong. Oats can do so much more. With 12g of protein per 100g of oats, they are an excellent source of plant-based protein and are therefore ideal for athletes to eat breakfast.
Porridge recipes
The great thing about porridge is that you can enhance or refine the basic recipe with a wide variety of additional ingredients or toppings. Whether you prefer it sweet, fruity and fresh, spicy or sour, you decide what you fancy.
Here is a small selection of delicious options:
Verival's Bircher Porridge is lactose-free, vegan and gluten-free, so it is also suitable for people with coeliac disease. Based on the Bircher muesli, it contains apples, figs, almonds and dates for a natural sweetness.
The blueberry-apple porridge from Verival is also gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan. It contains fruity blueberries, crunchy apples and almonds. What's more, Verival porridges contain no added sugar.
Which toppings for your porridge?
Porridge tastes slightly nutty if the oats are lightly toasted without oil before the water is added. The great thing about a porridge meal is that you can top it with your favourite ingredients to suit your taste. Honey is a good choice for adding a little sweetness to your porridge, or for those who want to prepare it vegan, maple syrup or agave syrup. Dates are also a healthy sweetener.
Roasting the oats gives your porridge a nutty flavour, which you can enhance with toppings such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts or cashew nuts.
Almost any fresh fruit (such as bananas, apples, strawberries, apricots, pears, mangoes, etc.) and berries (blueberries, raspberries, etc.) are suitable for adding freshness and fruitiness.
But you don't have to limit yourself to fresh fruit for breakfast. Flaxseeds and chia seeds are also suitable as a garnish and also support your digestion. Spices such as cardamom or cinnamon give your porridge a special taste, especially during the cold season. Of course, dried fruit is also suitable for rounding off your porridge (dates, raisins, cranberries, apricots or even figs).
If you want a little more variety, you can also try your porridge with millet or buckwheat flakes.
Delicious overnight oats: a portion of porridge to go
If you don't feel like having a warm porridge, you can easily prepare delicious overnight oats. This variation is prepared in just 5 minutes and is ideal as a to-go breakfast.
This healthy breakfast is known to be very gentle on the stomach and is easy to digest, which is why porridge is also ideal for babies. The reason for the good digestion is that the fibres contained in it keep the acidic gastric juice away from the mucous membrane. Oats have been used for years to treat gastrointestinal complaints.
Basic overnight oats recipe – no added sugar
The basic recipe for overnight oats is super simple – you only need two ingredients.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of rolled oats (about 45 g of rolled oats)
- 80 ml of water
- Toppings of your choice: berries, nuts, dried or fresh fruit, bananas, apples, grated coconut, etc.
Preparation
- Put the water and oats in a glass and stir well.
- Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or for at least two hours. It's best to seal the glass so that it doesn't absorb the odours of other foods in your fridge.
- Then stir well again and you can enjoy your breakfast.
- If you like, you can refine your overnight oats with toppings of your choice (fruit, berries, nuts, etc.).
You can buy the Verival porridge online.
