{Healthy & Vegan} Blueberry & Mulberry Porridge

Since coming back from Europe where I stuffed myself with every delicious cake I came across (not to mention quite a lot of mashed potato and amazing breads), I'm very proud to say that I've managed to lose the extra kilos that I gained while I was travelling for 6 weeks. I've been on a conscious health kick, and I'm really glad that it has paid off! I feel good, look a lot better and have more energy from eating less of those incredibly tempting things which are just so bad for you.

Breakfasts are a big challenge for me, they always have been. I never feel that hungry in the mornings but I know that it's unhealthy to skip breakfast. But I don't want to eat anything too big or with too many calories for breakfast because then I have to limit what I eat during the rest of the day to make up for it (which is no fun at all!). 

Luckily, spring means that there are lots of delicious and healthy fruits and berries which you can use to make your healthy meals special. At the moment we're having a bit of a blueberry craze, because it's so nice that they have come down in price. Out the back our mulberry tree is producing lovely berries (although a lot less this year than usual because it has been viciously pruned by our next door neighbour!) which are getting incorporated into a lot of meals. This lovely porridge needs no sweeteners and is full of juicy berries. The recipe serves two people and each serving is filling, but only 194 calories plus it's about 20% of your recommended daily calcium intake. So it's the perfect way to start your day! If you can't find mulberries then use any berries you like, or leave them out and just have blueberries.

Healthy Blueberry & Mulberry Porridge

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened oat milk

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 punnet blueberries

1 punnet of mulberries

To Make

1. Place the oat milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the oats and simmer until they are cooked, and the porridge is nice and thick (if it gets too thick and dry, add water a little bit at a time and stir vigorously until you get the consistency you like).

3. When the oats are almost done, add the blueberries and mulberries.

4. Serve immediately. You can add fresh berries or other fruit on top if you like.

Serves 2

NOTE~ The berries will only be lightly cooked, if you like them cooked more then add them at the same time you add the oats. 

Vegan Mulberry Hazelnut Muffins

As the weather warms up our mulberry tree is groaning with fruit. Well, I say our mulberry bush, but actually it's on our neighbours property. It's SO massive, though, that there is a monster of a tree growing over onto our yard which bears bowlfuls and bowlfuls of gifts every November. Around now every year we start having mulberry everything - mulberry smoothies, daiquiris, mulberry crumble, mulberry pie, mulberry jam and, of course, fresh juicy mulberries by the handful. 

With the mulberries being plentiful, it seemed natural to introduce them to my next batch of muffins. I love making muffins! I especially have fallen in love with hazelnut muffins - using hazelnut meal and hazelnut butter (for an even more hazelnut-y muffin check out my Quadruple Hazelnut & Date Muffins). The mulberries were sensational in these muffins, and you should seize the opportunity during this brief period that mulberries are available in most fruit and vegie stores. If you don't have mulberries, the best substitute would be blackberries. Failing that, go with blueberries or raspberries. 

If you're one of my Northern Hemisphere readers, then mulberries are most definitely not available for you! I recommend bookmarking this recipe for next spring and in the meantime cracking out the frozen berries and pretending you basking in the warm spring sunshine, as you bask in the warm autumn sunshine.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 cup hazelnut meal

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup rice milk (or soy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup hazelnut butter

1 cup fresh muesli

To Make:

1. Preheat your oven to about 180 degrees C.

2. Put the flour, hazelnut meal, sugar, bicarb and baking powder in a bowl and mix well to combine.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the rice milk, canola oil, vanilla and hazelnut butter and mix well.

4. Trim the stems off the mulberries and wash them. You can chop them up a bit but I like to leave them whole so you get a big juice bit of mulberry.

5. Either grease a muffin tray well or cheat a bit and use cupcake liners (which I did - it's just easier!). Fill the tray/liners almost to the top and then bake for 23 mins. 

6. Remove from the oven when they are golden on top and transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Want more tasty muffins?

Orange Almond Choc Chip Muffins

Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins (plus variations) 

Quadruple Hazelnut Date Muffins

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam

Jam is a fantastic way to enjoy seasonal fruits all year round so as soon as strawberries get cheap and mulberries come out - this jam is on. Like Donkey Kong. If you don't have mulberries substitute blackberries or raspberries.

Ingredients

750g fresh strawberries, trimmed
750g mulberries, washed and stems removed
1.5kg sugar
1 packed Jam Setta (For info in Jam Setta see this other jam post)
1 tbsp lemon juice

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Halve some of the mulberries and leave the rest whole. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test add the lemon juice and remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).

For more awesome jam check out our Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam.

Apple and Mulberry Crumble

Mulberries are just starting to become available in shops now so it's the time to seize the season and indulge in berry-tastic dishes! The amazing crumble topping is the star of this dish, so much so that I feel a bit sorry for the delicious berries underneath. This is made in a fairly shallow baking dish so if you have a deeper one then double or triple the quantities of fruit to make it more fruity! Serve with some vanilla soy ice cream. 

Ingredients

5-6 green apples

2 cups mulberries

1/4 cup water

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pepitas

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/3 cup walnuts

1 tbsp ground flaxseed (linseed)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

2/3 cup Nuttelex (or any other vegan margarine)

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees C.

2. Peel and roughly chop the apples and put in a saucepan. Wash and remove stems from mulberries and add to the saucepan as well with the 1/4 cup water. Put on a low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the apple is cooked.

3. Roughly chop the walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pepitas (this is best done using a really big knife and keeping your fingers well away!). 

4. Combine the oats, nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, flaxseed and dessicated coconut in a big mixing bowl and mix well to combine. 

5. Melt the margarine (either on the stove or in the microwave). Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and pour the margarine in. Mix very well until all the ingredients are coated in the marg. 

6. Grab a baking dish and  pour the cooked fruit into the bottom of it (including any cooking juices), spread out to make an even layer. Layer the crumble mixture on top evenly, spreading it all the way out to the edges.

7. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, or until the top goes hard and crunchy (just touch the top with you hand to check - if it feels hard like a biscuit then it's done, if not give it another 5 mins).

8. Serve immediately (preferably accompanied by vanilla soy ice cream).

Serves 6 (or 3 people for 2 nights).

NOTE: The thing about crumble leftovers is that you CAN'T microwave them because it is a crime and the top will go all soggy. So when you want to eat your leftovers just pop it back in the oven for 15 minutes or so to warm up.