Porridge
Servings: 2 people
Carbohydrate Serves: 2.75 - 3 per person
(1 carbohydrate serve = 15 grams of total carbohydrate)
When I was pregnant with gestational diabetes I realised soon on that I needed to choose meals that gave me bang for my carbohydrate buck so to speak. In other words, I wanted to get the maximum nutritional value out of a meal and feel satisfied, while making sure it took me through to the next one. Oats will do that for you and they are a great option if you are gluten intolerant (gluten-free oats are available in shops.) Sure, it took some getting used to preparing my porridge with water and not milk, but the ½ cup of (heated) frozen berries I heaped on top with a sprinkling of cinnamon helped even out the score. Another tasty trick I love is to add some fine orange zest to bring extra sweetness and flavour. (Main carbohydrate containing ingredients are listed in bold.)
Ingredients
- 120g/ 4 ounces 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 cup fat reduced milk to serve
Fruit for serving (all options contain carbs):
- 1 small apple, grated or
- 1 small banana, sliced or
- ½ cup of berries (frozen or fresh) which contain half the carbs as the above options
Put oats, cinnamon and 2 cups of the water in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat for several minutes, then let simmer for around 5 minutes adding the remaining water bit by bit as the porridge becomes stickier. Careful not to let the porridge burn.
Spoon half into each bowl and serve with milk and topped with your choice of fruit and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Variations: Cooking the fruit with the porridge is delicious as it sweetens as it cooks. Or during cooking, stir through ½ to 1 teaspoon of finely zested orange rind to sweeten and brighten the porridge without added carbs.
Post-GDM tip: Replace water with fat reduced milk. And if you’re tempted to heap your porridge with brown sugar, cook 2 tablespoons of sultanas in with the porridge instead as this sweetens it as it cooks. Other delicious additions include toasted sesame seeds, toasted shredded coconut or even some chopped dried fruit (apricots, plum, dates etc).
Hi, I’m a little curious about this recipe, why do you cook the porridge with water and then add milk. Can I just skip the water and cook with the milk. Totally new to this gestational diabetes (only diagnosed yesterday) so sorry if this is a dumb question.
Hi Vicki. Not a dumb question at all. Cooking with water is really just to limit the carbs as much as possible. Although low, the carbs in the milk would still count towards your carb count for that meal. Lisa x
Can this be made in the evening and reheated the next morning?
Or eaten cold? Thanks!
Hi Jenna, I guess you could do that but it probably wouldn’t be as nice :)