Leon The Ruby Red Porridge Review

Pret is always my go to when grabbing a breakfast on the go but on my latest venture through Birmingham New St, I decided to give Leon a while purely on the base of this new ruby red porridge they've introduced. It's dairy free and made with cashew milk instead along with organic oats. Cashew milk is one of my favourite nut milk and I've made porridge with it myself and it's delicious so thought this was onto a winner.

In addition it comes a strawberry, blackcurrant and raspberry compote and a splodge of almond butter for even more nutty goodness. Mine didn't come out anywhere near as pretty as the store photo but it smelt yummy and looked good. I also bought an americano and was pleased to see Leon offer cute glass bottles of almond milk you can add to it for a dairy free option.

My goodness, this porridge is amazing! Something about the thick, stickiness of almond butter in conjunction with a sweet compote that is so fruity works amazingly. It feels so naughty and indulgent yet it's all wholefoods. The porridge itself is creamy and warming and just all comes together for a really filling and nourishing breakfast.

This coupled with a lovely lady who served me means this will be something I will definitely be going back for,

Price: £4.25 for a breakfast deal of porridge and a hot drink
Bought at: Leoon
Nutrition per serving: 294 calories, 8g protein, 9g sugars, 11g fat, 2g sat fat, 0.6g salt

Kelloggs Ancient Legends Coconut and Chia Porridge

Kelloggs launched their Ancient Legends range earlier this year but I never got round to trying any of the mueslis, granolas or cereals. They've expanded this Autumn in time for winter with 3 new porridge flavours - a plain no added sugar one, a date one and this coconut one. Each of the range is not just your usual satchet of oats but a mix of oats and ancient grains spelt and barley and on trend chia seeds.

First thing is these are ridiculously expensive at £1.99 for 6x30g satchets considering a box of oats is around the same price even if yo buy a premium brand and they're 1kg. Secondly is these portions are miniscule , like ridiculous mouse portion small. I know it's probably aimed at dieting women who ate special K but still...123 calories for breakfast really isn't sufficient.

I made mine with unsweetened almond milk in the microwave and added some chopped nuts to a bit of a crunchy topping. It was actually quite nice and more interesting than the Quaker Oats So Simple I think, It had subtle coconut flavour although was a little sweet as there is added sugar in the coconut version at 12g per 100g but around 3.6g of sugars per serving which for Kelloggs and their need to add sugar to everything isn't too bad. The ancient grains make the texture a bit more interesting.

For a satchet porridge it's okay, But I wouldn't buy it again as it's cheaper and healthier to just make your own porridge plus you can customise it and make it your own and most importantly get a decent portion!

Price: £1.99
Bought at: Tesco
Nutrition per 30g without milk: 123 calories, 3.3g fat, 1.2g sat fat, 3.6g sugars, 3g protein, 3g fibre,

Moma Super Seeds Porridge

After enjoying the coconut and chia Moma porridge pot and having an early morning where I had no access to a microwave for my usual porridge, I thought I'd give another one a go - this time the superseeds. This one does contain dairy and is your normal porridge but also has no added sugar and actually because of the dairy you get more protein in it as well. As well as being high in protein, it's also a really source of fibre and we all know about oats and their cholesterol lowering function. A nice touch about this one as well is that it's gluten free.

In addition to gluten free oats and skimmed milk powder, it contains pumpkin seeds, linseed and chia seeds. This adds a nice textural contrast to the creamy, soft porridge and adds a little flavour. It's super simple to make, just pour in boiling water to the line, stir and wait five minutes so very convenient if you don't have access to a microwave or hob but still want porridge.

Having dairy in this one, I think makes it an improvement over the coconut milk one as it means the texture is much more rich and creamy. It also feels more filling, I guess because the milk adds necessary and protein. This plus a banana and a latte kept me suitably full until lunch.

Again, I prefer to make my own porridge and this isn't cost effective but it's probably the best and most nutritious porridge pot I've found.

Price: £1.29
Bought at: Ocado
Nutrition per pot: 254 calories, 4.3g fat, 0.8g sat fat, 9.9g sugars, 5.4g fibre, 14.4g protein, 0.4g salt

Moma Coconut and Chia Porridge - Dairy Free

I don’t really do premade porridge pots – generally they’re too sweet, too processed and frankly it takes no time to make from scratch and the you can add whatever flavourings you like. However, I’m quite partial to the moma bircher mueslis and as the pot a) has no added sugar b) came in a more unusual coconut and chia version, I was happy to pay the extra price to give it a go. It’s also a diary free instant porridge pot, which is quite unusual. Instead it relies on coconut milk – albeit coconut milk powder. 

The premise is the same as the usual porridge pots. Add hot water, stir , leave for a bit and dig in. I followed the instructions and came out quite nicely and it certainly smelt very coconutty. Despite the lack of sugar, it still tastes sweet and pleasant despite only containing 1.7g per pot. However, the texture isn’t as good as my regular porridge with a slightly more watery taste and texture. To an extent this isn’t Moma’s fault as it’s dairy free so is never going to be as thick and creamy as porridge made with milk.

However, I also make my porridge with proper almond milk or coconut milk and it’s still richer than this. I think this must be because it’s only coconut milk powder, which  you add boiling water to. Generally porridge pots texture is more watery because you’re adding water to them and I guess that’s the price you pay for convenience.

However, it’s a genuinely healthy breakfast on the go and it’s nice to see a porridge pot that isn’t pumped full of sugar and artificial ingredients. It’s also pretty high in protein with 6.6g per pot and although I still prefer making my own porridge so I can get a better portion size, this is fairly substantial. The chia seeds don;’t add a lot at 2.5% and when cooked in it don’t produve much bar the speckled appearance. Again when I make my own porridge I like to add chia at the end as a topping so I get the crunch.

Essentially homemade still triumphs but this probably the healthiest on the go porridge I’ve seen and would definitely be my go to choice if I needed a convenient option

Price: £1.49

Bought at: Ocado

Nutrition per pot: 247 calories, 8.4g fat, 5.1g sat fat, 1.7g sugars, 6.6g protein, 0.01g salt

Score: 7/10

Moma Plain Porridge Review

I always prefer making my own porridge from pure unrefined oats but somehow ended up with this Moma Plain Porridge instant pot. It’s your typical porridge pot for those who can’t be bothered to make their own. One thing that makes it slightly better than the likes of most marketed porridge pots is that it’s a decent serving size and when made gives over 200 calories rather than those skimpy 100 calorie ones which are not in any way an adequate start to the day. You can’t knock the cleaner ingredients vs other brands as well – this is just oats, skimmed milk powder and sugar. I was disappointed to see sugar in this especially as it’s caused plain and I never add sugar to any cereal or porridge.

The pot feels nice to hold and is certainly convenient for taking out and about. Opening it up I could see the oats were chunkier and more whole than the likes of Quaker which was appealing. I followed the instructions and added boiling water, stirred, put the lid on and left it.

When I came back it was done to a decent consistency, fairly thick and creamy but not solid. I do prefer porridge very thick but this was perfectly acceptable and I could have easily have left it a bit longer or put less water in. 

The porridge was very creamy, milky and comforting but I did just find it a little too sweet. Certainly it’s much less sweet than every other porridge pot I’ve tried and definitely the best one I’ve ever had. However, I just don’t see the need for sugar in this kind of product and the sweetness was too noticeable for me. Fairplay though it’s gluten free and uses British oats so has a lot more going for it than the likes of Quaker

If you buy porridge pots, I would recommend it – it’s a more premium and less adulterated version. However, why not just buy a bag of plain oats and make your own just the way you like it

Price: £1.49

Bought at: Waitrose

Nutrition per pot: 257 calories, 4.2g fat, 0.7g sat fat, 14.3g sugars, 10.9g protein, 5.3g fibre, 0.1g salt

Score: 6.5/10

 

Quaker Toasted Oats Porridge Review

Porridge is probably my most frequently eaten breakfast and something I eat most days - albeit sometimes in the form of bircher muesli in the summer. Generally I think it is worth paying just a little bit more for good oats rather than the sawdust you get in value ranges. Frankly, oats are so cheap anyway that paying an extra £1 for something that will do you breakfast for you for at least 3 weeks is hardly an expense.

So open minded to more expensive oats, I bought these new toasted oats from Quaker who are probably the most famous porridge brand, These oats are 'gently toasted for a rich and warm flavour' and can be used hot or cold.

Pouring into the bowl, they unsurprisingly looked like normal oats. I made up my porridge with Alpro almond milk and then topped with a sprinkling of seeds, nuts and granola for a nice bit of crunch. My verdict - absolutely delicious, warming and filling - but in reality no different to my normal porridge.

Don't get me wrong, they were good quality oats and made a thick, creamy porridge and there's nothing added to them - but I got no toasted flavour whatsoever. Maybe because I packed so much flavour in there with almond milk and all the toppings it got lost. It may be the toasted flavour comes out more raw in bircher muesli.

They were nice oats and I'll happily finish the box but really not worth the extra in my opinion.

Price: £2.09
Bought at Ocado
Nutrition per 40g serving: 150 calories, 3.2g fat, 0.6g sat fat, 0.4g sugars, trace salt

Score: 6.75/10

Fuel 10k Protioats Forest Fruits Review

Porridge is actually one of my favourite foods - not just breakfast food but in all foods. Thick, creamy, warming and good for you as well. It's just comforting. I guess it's why I like rice pudding too. It just feels like it's insulating you from the inside out.

However, i tend to buy pure unadultered porridge oats rather than things like the Quaker satchets as I want a healthy, unprocessed and unsweetened product. So I wouldn't usually buy something like this instant porridge pot from Fuel but I got a free sample. Fuel 10k are a breakfast brand that add protein to their products. Porridge is filling anyway but at the moment protein is key trend.

Like all porridge pots, it was a simple fill to the line with boiling water, stir, lid on and leave for a few minutes job. Forest fruit is a unusual flavour in most things nowadays, yet alone porridge so this was of interest to me. Opening the lid after following the instructions, it didn't smell particularly like forest fruits but did look quite appetising and I could see some bits of fruit dotted throughout.

Consistency wise it was runnier than I make my porridge but perfectly edible and tasted quite creamy. I thought it was fairly sweet, not overly so and it was tasty but as someone who doesn't sweeten my porridge it tasted much more processed. Whilst the forest fruit didn't particulalry come though as being obviously forest fruit, the porridge was very tasty. It was also suitably filling and I made it to lunch with no snacking - and this was after a gym session as well.

This made a nice treat but not something I would buy very often as the added sugar is just unncessary for me and I prefer to make my own from unprocessed oats so I can control the ingredients and consistency and texture. However, it was nice tasting and if you like this sort of thing, might be worth a try.

Price: £1.09
Nutrition per 60g pot: 221 calories, 2.6 fat, 0.5g sat fat, 16.5 sugars, 11.5g protein, 0.11g salt

Score: 6.5/10