I never give myself time to sit at the table and eat breakfast in the morning before going to work.  Even cereal seems like a bit of a hassle, what with all of that crazy box-opening and milk-pouring and whatnot. Yes, I am supremely lazy, and no, I do not think that is ever going to change.  If I don’t manage to pack something up the night before, the morning is a mad scramble to grab a few pieces of fruit, scavenge a few leftovers out of the fridge and toss whatever is nearby into a bag for lunch.  My morning routine is down to a carefully timed science, you see, and  God forbid that I should wake up 20 minutes earlier than necessary for something (essential and enjoyable) like BREAKFAST.

That said, by 9:30 a.m. I am generally googly eyed with hunger and ready to eat the arse end off a donkey. I will eat anything within arms reach, and If I don’t want to devour the entirety of my lunch before most people are done their first cup of coffee, something needs to slip down the gullet.  If it is something that I can just grab and go…perfect.

Enter my good friend, oatmeal.   Cheap and cheerful, nutritious and filling, oatmeal porridge is the kind of breakfast which costs just cents to make but is worth its weight in gold.  I got into the habit of making up a big batch of steel cut oats Sunday night and portioning it out into weeny little breakfast sized containers so that in the mornings I can just grab one as I run out the door.

I’m not the only one eating my weight in oatmeal these days, either. With the confusing trendiness that is usually reserved for things like Sally Jessy Raphael glasses (do we REALLY need to bring them back, people?) or wedge-heeled sneakers (just..don’t. I even prefer your Uggs, and that is saying something), hot oatmeal has been steaming into the fast food breakfast arena at coffee shops like Starbucks and Tim Hortons for a while.

As much as I love oatmeal, sometimes it does get a bit boring, and shaking it up ever so slightly by adding raisins one week, maple syrup the next, well, eventually it all just gets old. I found that one of the best ways to vary my porridge was to play with the variety of oats, and from there to experiment with different combinations of whole grains.  This recipe took inspiration and direction from the slow cooker spiced porridge by The Kitchn, the overnight slow cooker super healthy porridge by Prep Ahead and Dine In, and my good friend Sue, who adds shredded carrots to her quinoa, just because she can.  It is worth noting that here I have used the grains that I always have on hand (oats, quinoa, bulgur, barley), but you could really use any combination of whole grains that you like, including millet, brown rice, spelt, farro or teff.

Spiced Whole Grain and Fruit Porridge

Makes 10-12 servings of appx 1 cup each

** Recipe is easily halved if you aren’t actually making breakfast for the army barracks **

• 2 cups oats *
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 cup coarse bulgur **
• 2 medium apples (~2 cups, grated)
• 2 large or 4 small carrots (~2 cups grated)
• 1.5 cups raisins
• 4 cups ‘milk’ ***
• 6 cups water
• small knob fresh ginger (1″ chunk)
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup wheat germ, optional