Making own porridge is easy, tasty
![Making your own porridge is easy and tasty, too.King Features (King Features / The Spokesman-Review)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/lf3K0Q5kCnSxEwFlG0BaYvmwaCg=/400x0/media.spokesman.com/photos/2009/07/06/0706primtime_07-06-2009_K6GFPMI.jpg)
Once your kids turn the last page of the classic bedtime story “The Three Bears,” tell them that when they wake up in the morning, they’ll get to mash and measure some healthy ingredients and watch them whirl all together in your blender for their own bowls of nutritious and filling porridge.
You’ll actually be preparing a very thick smoothie-like concoction the kids can ladle into cereal bowls instead of drinking glasses, and top with colorful fresh summer fruits and berries. When they grab their spoons and dig in, they’ll quickly discover that their porridge is not too hot, not too cold, but “just right.”
Gather all these ingredients on your counter, and you’ll have this no-cook breakfast together in minutes.
Porridge ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
4 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 large ripe banana
6 raw almonds or walnut pieces
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Topping Ingredients
Favorite fruits, such as sliced kiwi, and fresh berries in season, such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Here’s the fun:
1. While one child peels and mashes a banana on a plate with a fork, another may wash the berries, and juice the half lemon.
2. Meanwhile, an adult should place the oats in the blender and pulse a few seconds into a coarse powder.
3. Add the remaining porridge ingredients in the blender and blend, adding extra milk a tablespoon at a time if necessary, for desired consistency.
4. Serve in bowls, and let kids add their favorite fruit toppings.
Alternative ideas:
Peel, slice and freeze the banana the night before for a cooler porridge.
Add a few strawberries or raspberries to the blender for a sweeter pink porridge.
Add 2 tablespoons freshly ground flaxseed. I buy mine in bulk and grind it in my coffee grinder before adding it to the porridge ingredients.
Makes approximately four 1/2-cup servings.