Oatmeal porridge - havermoutpap

I like rituals, especially in the morning. I get up, do some yoga (started that a while ago, and it feels so great), put on the kettle and walk to the mailbox. Get the newspaper, listen to the excited birds and breathe in the fresh Swedish air. Make some porridge and just sit there, in my kitchen, reading the paper. Often the best time of the day!



A bowl of warm, creamy porridge can really make me happy. Growing up I always started my day with Brinta, the most common Dutch variety of porridge. We usually ate the porridge with brown caster sugar, that melted when you stirred it in...yummy!
I didn't eat porridge for years, and last year I had a sudden craving. In the supermarkets here there is no Brinta to be found and it's closest resemblance had ingredients like dried milk powder. Why!? I just wanted a bowl of healthy, pure porridge.
I decided to try and make oatmeal porridge instead. I heard it's really healthy and it seemed worth the try. I was so pleasantly surprised! Since then I have been eating porridge for breakfast nearly every morning, especially in the winter. It's fast, fills you up and warms you from the inside. Plus, you don't get hungry until lunch.
I know it's getting warmer outside, but I can still not part with my porridge breakfast. Maybe you feel like trying some, but you don't really know how to go about it. It's very simple! The packaging of the oats usually have an instruction, but here is how I like to make it:



* Take 5 tablespoons of oats (havermout) and mix with some milk. I use oatmeal milk (Oatly), which is available in all the shops here in Sweden. I don't like to drink too much cow milk, and I heard that drinking soy milk too often is not so good either. I also think that Oatly milk gives a sweet flavouring and a creamy texture - but try it with any kind of milk.
* place your bowl in the microwave, and heat for 2 minutes on 750 watt
* stir (I leave the bowl in the microwave while stirring)
* heat again for 2 minutes
* pour in some cold milk until you find the consistency you like
* choose your topping. this morning I used some sweetener and cinnamon, but I also like to put in some lingonberry jam or brown sugar/muscovado sugar
* eat and be warm and happy!

Very nice to go with your porridge, or instead, or later in the day: a creamy superhealthy smoothie. Mix one banana, one pear (unpeeled!), 200 ml orange juice (= one big glass) and 3 tablespoons of Turkish yoghurt in a blender or with a handheld mixer. This is enough for two big glasses.