Gluten-free/paleo porridge

If you're either following a gluten-free diet or if you've cut out grains to be "paleo" then this breakfast might work for you, especially now that we're officially in Autumn and that the mornings are getting colder.

This is a really easy recipe that can be done with regular ingredients you'd normally have in your kitchen. It's also very versatile so once you've mastered the base, you can change the toppings according to your tastes/what you have at home.

I'm neither gluten-free nor paleo but I still have it now and again and so do my children. It doesn't taste like normal porridge since they aren't any oats but it has a similar consistency and it's more filling because it contains more protein.

Ingredients: (serves 1)

For the base

• 1 medium banana 
• 1 egg
• 1 serving spoon or 2 heaped tbsp. of milled seeds
• a splash of milk 

For the topping

• 1 apple, grated 
• 1 heaped tsp. of almond butter
• a few raspberries

You can use regular milk if you want, it's just that oat milk is what we have at home. I know, I know this it isn't paleo, so use almond milk or anything you want to loosen things a bit.

Method:

Put your base ingredients in a saucepan and mash it all up.

It's not on the picture but I often add a splash of vanilla extract, which gives a lovely sweetness to the porridge. You could use cinnamon too.

Then gently heat on the hob stirring constantly, you want the egg to scramble together with the banana and seeds.

This is what it looks like all mashed up and raw.

This is what it looks like after, once it's cooked. See how much thicker it is?

Pour into a bowl and add your toppings and tuck in!

You can't actually see the almond butter for the heap of grated apple but it is there, thank goodness, as it really makes this breakfast into something special.

I quite like this porridge to be quite dry, which is why I squeezed the apple juice out (and then drank it) but you don't have too and you could add some more milk at the end if you prefer. If you're not dairy-free, you could top your porridge with some plain Greek yoghurt instead of the almond butter. I sometimes top it with a sliced pear or mango or lots of different berries. Find a combination that works for you - in my opinion, each meal should be special so make sure you enjoy what you eat.

Sour cherry balls

For those who I met at Woodbury Golf Club a couple of weeks ago, here's the recipe of the cherry balls I had promised you - the apricot/chocolate squares are coming!

I have to confess to have largely inspired myself from this lovely lady (http://fedandfit.com/2013/04/07/paleo-sour-cherry-energy-balls/), who should get all the credit for the recipe. I've slightly adapted it and made it metric - 1 cup? 1 inch? 1 foot? Talk metric people pleeease!

Ingredients:

• 340g raw almonds
• 6 Medjool dates (pitted)
• 90g sour cherries (make sure you get the ones that are sundried and not the ones covered in sugar -  I buy mine online)
• 2 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1 zest and juice of an orange
• Some unsweetened dessicated coconut

Method:

In a food processor, coarsely blitz the almonds (don't do that in the morning when everyone is asleep, bad, bad move it turns out). Add the dates, cherries, chia seeds, zest and juice of the orange and blitz again until you have something that's fine enough to bind together but coarse enough to have some bite. I make sure mine don't have any whole nuts so that I can safely give them to my boys for their snack.

I store them in the fridge and they keep pretty well.

Breakfast protein bars

I'm always going on to people to eat more protein at breakfast and it's true that when having some chicken stew for dinner or a tuna salad for lunch is quiet easy, breakfast can prove trickier. Of course, lots of people around the world wake up to savoury protein rich breakfasts but that not what we're used to do...

Eggs are a good idea, you could even throw some bacon and some spinach if you felt liked it. You could, couldn't you? And yet I don''t, why Mrs nutritional therapist don't you do it? Because I have a guilty secret, in the morning I'm quite lazy. I don't want to be preparing food, let alone doing too much washing up. And the last thing I want is to be clattering around the kitchen and wake up the kids - breakfast is pretty much the only time I have to myself when I'm not working or sleeping.

I like to eat my breakfast in peace and I like it to be quick to prepare, with minimal washing up AND it has to taste good. I will never eat something that tastes bad just because it's healthy, especially not in the morning!

So I came up with these bars, which are mainly made with protein powder and nuts/seeds. I prepare a batch of 6, stick it in the fridge that's me and my husband sorted for 3 mornings. They taste nice, they're filling, they're healthy, take no time to prepare and don't require washing up since it's all prepared beforehand.

For 6 bars you'll need:

• 6 scoops of protein powder. I use Solgar Whey to Go, chocolate flavour and each scoop is about 35g and brings 20g protein.
• 3 scoops of toasted pecan nuts (sometimes I use a mix of pecans, cashews and almonds)
• 3 scoops of mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds (sometimes I toast them, sometimes not)
• 1.5 scoop unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1.5 scoop coconut flour
• 1/2 scoop of coconut oil
• 1 scoop of raisins
• 1 pinch of unrefined sea salt
• Sometimes I also throw a handful of cocoa nibs
• Water - I'm sorry I don't know how much, I just wing it a bit... I'll check next time and update the recipe.
• Non PVC cling film 
• A tin - mine is 23cm x 16cm

I use my Kitchen Aid mixer because it's there but you can do it by hand with some elbow grease.You basically need to mix everything together apart from the coconut oil which you first need to melt. Once melted add the oil and then a bit of water until it all clumps together - you don't want it too wet or it'll be very sticky; if it does become sticky add some coconut flour.

Line your tin with the cling film (very important or it'll be a nightmare to get out!!) and press the mixture in the tin. Put in the fridge until the next morning and cut into 6 pieces.

Ok, it looks tiny but it's very filling I promise. My husband is practically a black hole when it comes to food and he manages not to eat until lunch time after one of these.