Kick Starter Winter Porridge

I make no secret of the fact that mornings are my least favourite time, and Monday is always the worst.

I get up first and use the bathroom, then get my partner up and he goes for a shower while I coax the small boys into their school uniforms. Then begins the nightmare task of getting all the teenagers out of bed and off to school. Invariably someone can't find their uniform/bag/socks/shoes/sense of humour and the shouting and screeching begins.

Getting everyone fed is another thankless task. It has to be the right bowl and spoon, sat in the right place and for 2 of ours "no-one can be looking at me". Once they've eaten breakfast everyone calms down - blood sugar is returned and peace, for the most part, restored.

I'm not alone in my dislike of Monday mornings and research from a YouGov poll of over 2000 adults shows that 25% of people agree with me. 22% however believe that starting Monday right leads to a more positive week, so if we can crack that first day back at work and school we can still reap the benefits on Thursday and Friday.

Quaker Oats, who commissioned the poll, suggest 5 ways to improve your morning and start positively -

1. Having a healthy breakfast
2. Greeting everyone with a smile
3. Laughing
4. Listening to a favourite music or radio show
5. Eating porridge  - unsurprisingly, one in three (36%) porridge eaters love Mondays mornings

They've teamed up with George and Larry Lamb to create a one-off Love Monday FM podcast to help you beat the January blues. It's full of special guests including Rowetta from The Happy Mondays, The Fonz and the World Porridge Champion and you can download it for free from iTunes.

They've also shared the winning porridge recipe from the World Porridge Champion Ian Bishop (who features in the podcast)

Kick Starter Winter Porridge

Ingredients

40g Quaker Porridge Oats
100g Water
200ml Semi-skimmed milk
Cinnamon
Tbsp Diced Apple
Tbsp Raisins
(World Porridge Champion Ian Bishop likes to add a dash of Brandy)

Recipe

1.Add Quaker Oats, semi-skimmed milk and water to a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring frequently with a spurtle or the handle of a wooden spoon (we actually use a chopstick!).
2.Turn the heat down even further and add the dash of Brandy if you're using one. Simmer, stirring frequently for around 5 minutes.
3.Add a pinch of cinnamon, the diced apple and raisins and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes.
4.Cover and stand for 3-5 minutes, serve.

There are more porridge recipes to try at www.Quaker.co.uk. We'll be trying this recipe out over the coming Winter, my partner might even add a dash of Brandy to his at the weekends....

I'm being sent some Quaker Porridge Oats so that we can test the recipe in return for this post. I'll let you know how popular it is later!