Porridge and tea

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Breakfast has always been a staple for me. If I don't eat breakfast, morning concentration is a challenge and midday becomes a bit chaotic trying to fill the gaping void in my belly.

Breakfast in the 90s

As a kid, I didn't put any thought into my first meal of the day. I'd want something sweet and fun as mornings are not sweet and fun. Mornings are a struggle. Waking up and getting out of bed is a daily battle: grogginess and that instinctual urge to close my eyes for 5 more minutes.

However, winning that struggle was rewarded by fishing around in a freshly opened cereal box to find the plastic-wrapped toy that was promised on the brightly coloured box. My favourite breakfast cereal was Kellogs Corn Pops. Perfectly round and sugary, soaked in milk. I'm pretty sure they had no nutritional value other than carbs. They were the best thing ever.

Breakfast as an adult

These days, I am slightly more mindful about what I start the day with. Something that will keep me going until lunch is the goal. Something that is relatively healthy and able to host 1 of my 5 a day. Something I can change up to keep it interesting. Something that won't take too long to make, after having stayed snuggled under my duvet until the last possible moment.

Porridge is a good fit. It's flexible, you can make it your own - cook it, or not; add fruit or nuts and seeds, or not. It's wholegrain, full of fibre and a good source of extra vits, minerals and antioxidants. There is no added sugar unless you add some.

My porridge recipe

Ingredients

  • 40g of rolled oats
  • 30g of sultanas or 1 banana (broken up) or blueberries
  • Oatly Barista milk

Method

  1. Pop into the microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
  2. Monch.

Variants

  • Mixing in cocoa powder before it's cooked makes it chocolatey without the bad stuff
  • Sprinkling chia seeds after it's cooked will boost it's goodness™️
  • Cook it for less time to make it less sticky

Breakfast tea

Part of my breakfast ritual, is a cup of tea. The morning doesn't begin until tea.

I don't drink coffee much, I get too buzzed, but I drink tea in copious amounts throughout the day. I like the heat and the flavour. But that maiden cuppa of the day hits different to the rest, it tastes like comfort and peace and I find it incredibly grounding.

Without meaning to though, I am super fussy about how I take my tea. When I go on holiday (particularly if it's out of the UK), I know my tea experience is going to be subpar. The brand of tea isn't right, the water isn't right, the milk is not right. Before I leave home I'll have a last Good Cuppa and savour the heck out of it, and when I return, making a Good Cuppa is quite literally the first thing I will do as I get through the door.

Despite being Fussy, I know My Way is not The Proper Way, and how I make tea would probably stress out a tea purist, and annoy a lot of Brits. I like it quick and milky:

My tea recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 large mug
  • 1 Paned Cymraeg (Welsh Brew) tea bag
  • 95°c water
  • a lot of Oatly Barista milk

Method

  1. Pop the teabag in the mug.
  2. Pour in the hot water aiming to hit the teabag - the heat makes the teabag go puffy and it makes a hiss as the hot air tries to escape.
  3. Swirl with a teaspoon for like, 5 seconds.
  4. Fish out the teabag, squeezing it against the side of the mug and remove.
  5. Pour in about 1cm of oat milk.

The best tea ever. Oat milks gives it a special something as well.

What is your ideal breakfast?

How about you? What do you have for breakfast? What does breakfast mean to you?

This blog post is in response to Eggs and coffee by James' Coffee Blog. James talks about his morning ritual, being intentional and listening to the outside world.