Actual Brown Rice Porridge with Stewed Fruit, Prunes & Walnuts
Sometimes you wake up craving certain foods and lately it has been a warm bowl of porridge topped with runny cream, fruit and nuts. What more could you ask for on a frosty winter's morning? Not much I say.
The best thing about this porridge is that it makes use of any leftover cooked brown rice. Yes actual brown rice. I had plenty of rice leftover from a curry I’d made and as we don’t have a microwave I find the easiest way to use up leftover brown rice is in this delicious porridge or a simple fried rice.
I love warm foods against cold (a love I share with one of my favourite chef’s Nigel Slater), so this porridge is my kind of breakfast as it’s topped with cooling runny cream and cold naturally sweet fruit (such as stewed seasonal fruit) or a few prunes for extra goodness – I’m just loving prunes right now on breakfast!
Brown rice is high in insoluble fibre, B-vitamins and slow release energy so it will keep you going for hours. Stewed fruit will inevitably provide a valuable source of vitamins and minerals to protect your immune system over winter and the walnuts and chia seeds are a great plant-source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids for brain and heart health. The cream is purely a weekend indulgence and something I haven’t had for years but boy it was good! You could use milk and it would still be delicious.
I added a scoop of NuZest Clean Lean Protein to up the protein content as I’ve been reading a lot about the amount of protein required to induce an anabolic response (this means to support muscle building which increases our lean muscle mass which is good news!). The amount of protein thought to be needed for this is about 25-30g. Any more than 30g and you wouldn't gain any extra benefits so in this case, more is definitely NOT better. However, you could easily leave the protein out of this porridge and simply cook it for longer to thicken. I tend to leave the protein out if I haven't been training prior to breakfast. But it's a great option to add post-exercise.
However, if you're after a chia porridge that uses oats or brown rice flakes instead of leftover cooked brown rice, be sure to check out my recipe for Chia Rice Porridge that I posted during the fig season here.
I hope you enjoy this porridge as much as I have been on these chilly mornings!
Actual Brown Rice Porridge – serves 1 adult or 2 little people (simply multiply for recipe if you’re feeding more)
1/3 cup leftover cooked and cooled brown rice (I leave mine in the fridge overnight)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1 Tbspn pure maple syrup or runny honey
Dash vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
1 Tbspn chia seeds
1 scoop NuZest Clean Lean Vanilla Protein - optional
To serve:
¼ cup stewed fruit
3 prunes
1 Tbspn walnuts
Dash of runny cream or milk
Combine the rice, milk, water, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and chia seeds in a pot. Bring to the boil, stirring and then lower the heat and simmer for ~10-15 minutes. Stir the porridge frequently to ensure the milk doesn’t stick or burn.
When the porridge is almost at the consistency/thickness you want (but still a little runny), add the scoop of protein and stir until combined, thick and creamy.
Pour the porridge into a serving bowl and top with fruit, prunes, walnuts and a dash of runny cream or milk.
Enjoy!
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free (use nut, rice or soy milk and suitable milk instead of cream), Vegetarian
