Like how I worked on improving my coffee process a while back, I have for the past 6 months or so been working on my porridge recipe to the point now it has become my go-to breakfast and is possibly reached a peak in terms of taste, texture and fuss because if we're being honest there are as many methods for making porridge as there are people in Scotland and some of them can take a long time with littlle dicernable benefit.
Servings: Makes one adult sized bowl.
Rolled Oats: Half a cup or 70g
Get not-the-cheapest oats but beyond that any willl do. I find the super-budget end results in a bad texture probably due to a lack of purity. I tend towards Tesco's Scottish Rolled Oats*.
I am happy to eat them as-is but my family like a smoother porridge so I usually put them in a mini chopper and store a box of chopped oats that looks like a coarse ground coffee (different colour hopefully).
Salt: A pinch.
Salt brings out the flavour, any more than that and you start tasting the salt which is undesirable, less is more.
Peanut butter: Half a teaspoon
No more, no less. Smooth or crunchy is fine and down to texture preferences.
This fortifies the porridge so it will taste more creamy and fill you up until your next meal. I buy Whole Earth brand*, it is the best peanut butter I know of but I don't think the quality matters too much here.
Milk: 3/4 cup or 180ml
I find the peanut butter adds enough flavour that I will often use skimmed (0.3% fat) to reduce calories without sacrificing much. If I'm particularly hungry I might go with semi-skimmed (1.8% fat). Somewhere between 3/4 and 1 cup is fine. If I'm going by weight I add 70g oats then fill the bowl until it hits 250g total.
Cooking:
Microwave (800w) for 90 seconds, remove and stir well, if it is still too loose then give it another 15-20 seconds and check again.
Toppings:
My preference is simple granulated sugar, half a teaspoon over the top without stirring it in (a simple trick to maximise the sweetness without adding more sugar).
My kids like a few chocolate nibs, or honey.
The whole process can take about 2 minutes and you get a nice warm bowl of porridge that will keep you from snacking all morning and costs next to nothing to make yourself without resorting to processed porridge product.
You can use powdered peanut butter/peanut flour, mix the dry ingredients together for later use and just add milk before you cook on the move.
I don't have an alternative for peanut allergies, but if you find one make sure you share it! Protein powder might work, could be worth an experiment.
DISCLAIMERS
* Other brands exist, I'm sure they're all fine
🏴 I am no true Scotsman, although I do have some Scottish heritage and love visiting Scotland often as I can. 🏴