Top of the morning to ya!

Porridge- the champion of breakfasts.

Ever since I moved to Finland, more than a decade ago, my attitude towards porridge has changed dramatically. To put it simply, I went from never trying it to eating it regularly ;) So much so that I actually enjoy it as breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Semolina porridge with blueberries,
 strawberries and juice of berries.

There is, however, one tiny detail. I only like a specific type of porridge. When I started tasting different types of porridge I noticed a few things. Texture matters to me, so I was unable to actually enjoy porridge that had chunks in it. A smoother texture was always a better experience for me. The best one is semolina porridge (Mannapuuro/mannasuurimo/Σιμιγδάλι). In the shops here in Finland, one can find dark wheat or white wheat. After having tried both, I lean towards the dark wheat semolina.

All porridge types are a great nutrition treasure. Wheat and grains are rich in calcium, magnesium, iron and, of course, fiber. Therefore, the dish has nutritional value, the intake of calories is low and it is a dish which will not leave you hungry.

Wheat

Some people might enjoy adding some sugar to porridge but there are other ways of jazzing the dish up. I gave up the consumption of sweets, candy, and baking goods 9 months ago so I have been avoiding sugar as much as possible. To give a kick to my porridge I am adding blueberries, strawberries, kisel (sweetened juice of berries), or honey. I prefer honey as it is a more natural sweetener to processed juice of berries.

Grains which are used to make porridge are semolina,rice, buckwheat, barley, corn, polenta etc. In Finland, I am used to the rice porridge, wheat (all types of wheat) porridge, and semolina porridge. 

As a kid, growing up in Greece, I was not used to eating porridge. However, I noticed one similarity with the rice porridge. The Finns make rice porridge by boiling it in milk and eating it warm by adding a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on top. It is a dish which I have seen more being consumed over Christmas but rice porridge is also a common breakfast dish. In Greece, we have something similar, called rizogalo/ ριζόγαλο (rice milk) only we eat it cold and only with cinnamon on top. So, we let the rice mixture set in the fridge overnight first before we add some cinnamon on it. It is considered more of a dessert dish rather than a breakfast dish. 

Go on! Give porridge a go. I promise you will enjoy it and feel better about your healthier start to your day.