Oats With A Twist

During the winter months, it is almost impossible to eat comfort packed meals that are healthy, try as you may you always fall of the rails at some point.

Over the years of being in Johannesburg, and experiencing the “Jozie Winter” I have managed to make our main meals and some savoury snacks healthy and satisfying. But the challenge has been to find a “healthy” alternative for rusks, cakes, biscuits and hot chocolate at night before bedtime, but the “never give up” streak in me continued to experiment and “Oats With A Twist” was born and has become a top favourite amongst one and all. This is not just a “hot porridge” it is a decadent hot porridge that can double up as a decadent dessert with loads of health benefits

I have been making this version of oats for sometime now, however it was after watching the TV series “Girl Eats World”, featuring our very own talented Kamini Pather – I cannot remember which country she was in but I clearly remember her going into a restaurant to eat/taste a cooked hot porridge and this inspired me to share my “Oats With A Twist” recipe. You can catch/follow Kamini on twitter @KaminiPather,

Oats With A Twist

25ml butter or ghee

1-2 small sticks of cinnamon

250ml raw oats

100ml water

5ml salt

300ml low fat ideal milk

5ml cinnamon powder

25ml ground flax, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds

25ml ground almonds

30ml flaked and toasted almonds (to serve)

45ml honey (to serve)

Method

• Heat butter/ghee in a medium size saucepan, on medium heat and add the cinnamon sticks
• Lower heat and add the raw oats and toast on low heat for about 7-10 minutes – till the oats change colour and aroma arises
• Slowly add the water and salt and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes – before adding the ideal milk and cinnamon powder
• Allow the above to cook for another 5-7minutes or until you see the mixture getting thick
• Add the ground flax, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and almonds to the above mixture and allow to cook for a further 1-2 minutes
• Serve hot with some honey and toasted flaked almonds

 

Version Two

• When you add the ideal milk in step 3 add a handful of goji berries, cranberries and raisins
• Follow the rest of the steps and then adding the toasted flaked almonds can be optional
• Serve it any which way you want to–but serve and enjoy its decadence