Healthy Breakfast Ideas: Cranberry Buckwheat Porridge
Did you ever hear the saying about how oatmeal or porridge is a “stick to your ribs” kind of breakfast? It’s not too far from the truth. While it doesn’t truly stick to your ribs, starting the day with a fiber-rich steaming bowl of oatmeal, will keep you feeling fuller longer and help curb some overeating tendencies you might have during the day. Not to mention the fact, that it sits right in the healthy breakfast ideas category and right up there with the ultimate comfort and feel good foods of our time. I’ve swapped out most of the traditional oats for super healthy raw buckwheat, to make a Cranberry Buckwheat Porridge that is incredibly delicious and keeps me going all morning long. The benefits are the same as traditional oatmeal with a few other advantages.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas: Changing it Up!
Buckwheat is more recently becoming a serious contender in the superfood/healthy breakfast ideas category. It’s not a grain, but actually a seed, that is related to the rhubarb plant. It not only keeps you feeling fuller longer, but it’s pretty high in fiber and research is showing that regular consumption of buckwheat is vital to a healthy intestinal tract and protecting against colon cancers. It also helps reduce blood sugars, lower cholesterol levels and is full of essential nutrients. It’s used similarly to wheat in many recipes and because it’s a seed, its gluten-free and an option for those with gluten allergies.
All of the health benefits aside, I love it because it has a slightly chewy and nutty flavour, and doesn’t go mushy like regular oatmeal. I simply soak it in water the night before (sometimes only for an hour when I’m in a time crunch), to soften it a little more before cooking. The addition of the cranberry sauce came as a result of having so many bags left over from the holidays. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed having cranberry sauce swirled into a bowl of steaming buckwheat, and have since made it many times! I’ve been doubling and tripling this and making extra jars for breakfasts on the run. I love that I’m kick-starting my day with a healthy dish of porridge that will fill me up and benefit my body long after I’ve eaten it. I plan on adding this to my healthy breakfast ideas list and making this all winter long!
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- For the Cranberry Sauce:
- 2 cups cranberries
- ¼ cup pomegranate juice or water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- For the Porridge:
- 1 cup soaked and rinsed raw buckwheat (overnight or or for at least an hour)
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- 2¼ cups almond milk
- 3 tbsp. brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- drizzle of milk or cream for serving
- pepitas and seeds for serving
- In a microwave safe bowl, add the cranberries, sugar and pom juice. Loosely cover with saran and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and cook for 3-5 more minutes until berries are tender. Set aside.
- In a medium pan, bring the buckwheat, oats, brown sugar, almond milk, cinnamon and salt to a light boil. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed (about 6-8 minutes), but still creamy as more will absorb when removed from heat.
- Spoon into bowls and top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Add a swirl of milk or cream and seeds to serve.
- Spoon left overs into jars and reheat (add a tbsp. of milk before reheating to make creamy again).
