Chocolate Coconut Baked Porridge

Hello lovelies! I find myself very unexpectedly able to sit down and write a blog post this week. I was well prepared for not getting the opportunity, what with it being the Easter holidays for this week and next, and being away and just out and about a lot with my boys and following that, just generally frazzled, but here I am. The boys are off with their Oumi and Oupi (my husband is South African, so his parents are known as Oumi and Oupi, which is a familiar version of the generic Ouma and Oupa which is very formal, although I think my MIL actually made them up!) I have an ill husband on the sofa, loads of decorating to do, and a delicious recipe for chocolate coconut baked porridge to write up. I know which I’m going to choose for the time being.

I would like to dedicate this recipe to my dear friend Heph, with whom I was talking about all the possibilities of breakfast yesterday, and the many ways in which chocolate can be healthily introduced in the form of raw cacao and cacao nibs. She was also very privileged (haha) to sample my accidentally purchased dark chocolate-covered cacao nibs, and I think I have made a convert! Seriously though, we had a great conversation about plant-based and vegan eating, and although I consciously don’t subscribe to any particular type of diet or way of eating, I generally eat little meat and enjoy an awful lot of plant-based meals and recipes. Eating well the majority of the time has such huge health benefits, especially that of knowing whatever you are putting into your body in nourishing it in some way.

So without further procrastination, here is my recipe for Chocolate Coconut Baked Porridge.

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 60g jumbo rolled oats
• Heaped dessertspoon raw cacao
• Dessertspoon desiccated coconut plus extra for sprinkling
• Dessertspoon of honey
• 200ml almond milk
• Dessertspoon almond butter
• 5-6 whole almonds (or sprinkling of flaked almonds)
• Sprinkling of chocolate covered cacao nibs (or regular nibs)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to fan 190°C.

Place the oats, raw cacao and dessertspoon of desiccated coconut in a medium-sized oven proof bowl or high-sided dish and stir together.

Add the honey, almond milk and almond butter and stir well.

If using whole almonds, take a sharp chef’s knife and slice several times along the length of each almond to create your own flakes. Sprinkle the flaked almonds and desiccated coconut on top of the porridge mixture.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden and the chocolate is bubbling around the sides.

Serve into a breakfast bowl then sprinkle with your choice of cacao nibs. The nibs should melt a little into the porridge.

Enjoy immensely…

…I certainly do! This is actually like eating chocolate pudding for breakfast, yet there is nothing in this pudding-like breakfast that is not nourishing and beneficial to your body. The oats will provide you with energy and the wholegrains will ensure you feel satisfied for longer and less likely to snack because the body takes longer to break them down. Raw cacao has no added ingredients, unlike its descendant, cocoa, and is therefore is full of antioxidants and minerals and a plethora of beneficial nutrients, as are almonds.

Breakfast can be as exciting a meal as lunch or dinner and is just as good an opportunity to experiment with new things. If you’re reading this and think there is no way you have time to faff around like this in the morning, try mixing the dry ingredients together the night before, then adding the rest the following morning and popping it in the oven whilst you are having a shower and getting ready. You’ll have the most incredible breakfast to enjoy and it really is minimum effort.

Let me know how your choccy baked porridge goes down by leaving a comment below. I’d also love to know if you have a favourite baked porridge recipe and what it is.

Thank you for reading,

xxx Sam