Porridge is a quick and comforting breakfast option which gives us a steady stream of energy until lunchtime. And it doesn't just have to be kept for cold days – try cooling it down with a fresh fruit topping or cold milk on warmer days.
If you have a ‘non-stick’ pan use this for making porridge, as an ordinary pan can be difficult to wash up.
Skill Check (as appropriate for each Key Stage)
Follow a recipe; Follow food safety & hygiene rules; use a jug to measure liquids; use balance/digital scales; chop using bridge/claw safely; use the hob (with adult supervision); tidy away.
Allergens
Milk | Gluten
(Please note the allergens listed are indicative only. Allergens vary depending on brand; check the labels on the products you use.)
Equipment
Saucepan (ideally non-stick), cup, wooden spoon, hob (or microwave & microwaveable bowl), bowls & spoons.
Ingredients (serves 12 children)
- 450g porridge oats
- 1 litre semi-skimmed milk
- 1 litre water
- Optional ‘toppings’: 1 sliced banana, a handful of fresh berries or dried fruit, a splash of cold milk, or a swirl of clear honey (add your choice of topping once the porridge is cooked).
Method
- Put the oats, milk and water into the saucepan and stir.
- Heat gently, stirring often.
- Continue like this for a few minutes. The porridge is ready once the mixture is thickened and piping hot throughout.
- Spoon into bowls and add your topping of choice before serving.
Fun Breakfast Fact
World Porridge Day is celebrated on the 10th October. Porridge has been taken into space by astronauts and has been carried by explorers to the North and South poles.
So thinking about porridge...
Oats provide starchy carbohydrate, which gives us slow-release energy, and are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Milk is a great source of calcium and protein. Semi-skimmed and skimmed milks contain all the important nutritional benefits of milk, but are lower in fat.
Porridge is delicious with a fruity topping – why not experiment and change your fruits with the seasons.
Activity and Discussion Ideas
- Ask pupils to discuss the main ingredients and identify where they fit on the eatwell guide. Are there any food groups missing? Is there a good balance of the food groups? Is there anything the pupils would add to either the recipe, or the meal, to make it healthier or more balanced?
- Pupils might like to think of different topping ideas for their porridge. They could write out their recipes or draw a picture of their porridge with their favourite toppings on.
Nutritional Information
- | Energy | 792KJ/188kcal | 9% |
Low | Fat | 4.3g | 6% |
Low | Saturates | 1.4g | 7% |
Low | Sugars | 4.3g | 5% |
Low | Salt | 0.1g | 2% |
per 170g serving
% of an adult's reference intake
Typical values per 100g: Energy 466KJ / 111kcal
Notes
A traffic light system is used on nutrition labels to make it easier to see which foods and drinks are lower in calories, fat, sugar and salt. Try and choose more ‘greens’ and ‘ambers’ and fewer ‘reds’, and stick to smaller portions of ‘reds’.
Just because a recipe or a food has a red traffic light doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it. Understanding why a food or recipe might have a red light can be helpful. For example oily fish is high in total fat and so any recipe containing oily fish is likely to be ‘red’ for fat. But it is recommended that we eat oily fish at least once a week because the type of fat it contains is beneficial for our health.
% Reference Intakes are also shown. Reference Intakes are guidelines about the approximate amount of particular nutrients and energy required for a healthy diet (based on an average-sized woman doing an average amount of physical activity). Most children will require less than these Reference Intakes. The contribution of one serving of a food or drink to the Reference Intake for each nutrient is expressed as a percentage.