Recipes for the Road - Banana, Date & Cacao Porridge.

There has been a million reasons for not starting this series, even though I’ve been bending friends ears about this for a few years. Ok, so maybe not a million, but a fair few: the van wasn't right, I didn't have the right props, I’m not sure what the theme is, blah de blah. Really I was just feeling the fear and it took a few months after the van had been renovated to realise the perfection I was chasing was just a diversion tactic.

The idea for Recipes for the Road came when I was camping back in 2020. Sharing on my stories and responding to DM’s made me realise that the recipes I thought were obvious perhaps weren’t so obvious to others. My nutrition training wasn’t completely lost - while clinic life didn't end up being right for me, I learned what nourishes me and my clinic strength was always putting recipes together. This bled into my adventures - I was always prepping nutritious meals on autopilot because the knowledge was there already and it was just something that came naturally. Meals that were nourishing (and perhaps some not so) that are easy to prep and buy for when resources are limited.

Recipes for the Road are simple recipes, made for camping or life on the road when you have a small stock cupboard. Most are made to nourish and yet are quick and easy to make, usually involving just one pan. Once the base stock cupboard is bought, the ingredients will flow over the recipes, hopefully meaning you can keep your food spend and food waste down.

Pre-hike Porridge.

This porridge is full of slow release energy foods to keep you fuelled while exploring. The banana provides carbohydrates and is rich in potassium - a nutrient lost in sweat. The oats provide slow release carbs and protein while the seeds work further to slow down the rate in which your body converts the fuel into food as well as giving you a hit of Omega 3. The dates will provide a satisfying sweet hit, but also loaded with fibre so will keep you fuller and also keep you regular 😀

Finally, one of my favourite ingredients, Cacao nibs, are full of antioxidants, good fats and fibre. They also add a lovely, bitter crunch on top of the gooey banana and dates. I find cacao nibs are generally cheaper if bought from zero waste shops and keeping a jar in your store will tart up breakfasts and snacks while adding a rapid boost of nutrients.

This is a worthy breakfast for a day of exploring, go enjoy it!

Ingredients.

1 cup rolled porridge oats

2 cups oat milk (or your preferred milk)

1 small handful omega 3 seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

Maple syrup (to taste - you can use date syrup too)

1 banana, sliced

2 medjool dates (fresh are best), de-stoned and sliced

1 small handful cacao nibs

Method.

Put the oats, milk, seeds, salt and cinnamon in the pan with a small dash of maple syrup. Stir and cook on a medium heat until the east absorb the milk and you get a thick, creamy porridge - this should take about 5 minutes and watch for any burning at the bottom of the pan as every hob is different and you might need to turn the heat down. Once cooked, turn the heat off and place the lid on the pan, leaving here for 5 minutes while you prep your toppings.

Transfer the porridge into a bowl, top with the date and banana slices, sprinkle over your cacao nibs and drizzle over some maple syrup.