The neighborhoods have been bustling with school aged children, adorned with character back packs and lunch bags, frolicking along the streets, as the anticipation of a new academic year awaits them. School starting tends to mean busier schedules for families as they squeeze in play dates, homework, after school programs, sports, clubs and family activities in one short week.
With all the hustle and bustle, preparing three wholesome meals, along with snacks, can seem a bit daunting. Personally I know the busier we are, and the less prepared I am with meals, the more likely I am to order in or fall back on something a little more convenient. In order to avoid that situation, we rely quite a bit on making larger portions ahead of time and spreading them out throughout the week.
A breakfast favorite in our home has become sprouted brown rice porridge. Simple to make a large batch at the beginning of the week, great to start the morning off with, or perhaps packed away for lunch or even as an after school pick-me-up snack. With a creamy texture and an ability to pair with lots of various flavors, my children l0ve having a bowl of in season fruit with the porridge on the side, sometimes mixed with some homemade apple or pear sauce, a drizzle of maple syrup, a handful of raisins, then sprinkled with a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. And as mom I love it because it’s easy, quick, and starts their day off right. Additionally, using sprouted rice for the recipe allows their little bodies to digest the nutrients more easily.
Sprouted Brown Rice Porridge
(can easily be doubled)
1 cup of sprouted brown rice
4 cups of filtered water
1 cinnamon stick
Add rice and water, along with cinnamon stick into a pot. Bring to a slight boil then reduce heat to the lowest setting and leave for an hour and a half. Check to see that the water has been absorbed.
At this point you can mix in a little maple syrup or honey if you’d like, but the porridge is ready to serve. Enjoy it hot right away mixed with diced or stewed fruit, jams, applesauce, pearsauce. The porridge on it’s own, will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is great to make ahead on a Sunday evening and then during the week in the mornings (when everyone is rushed to get out of the house), reheat a little in a pot with your choice of toppings, perhaps some sliced almonds, crushed walnuts, chopped pumpkin seeds, the possibilities are endless!
My family doesn’t always eat this just for breakfast. On the mornings when we have eggs, yogurt, or smoothies for breakfast, I find the porridge makes a good 10 o-clock snack for my kids as an in between, to allow for a 15-20 minute break in our homeschooling routine.
Now here’s a little secret: out of convenience I tend to purchase my rice already sprouted, just to save me a little extra time, but if you are up for it, by all means go ahead and sprout it yourself! I’m sure it’s easy, I just haven’t squeezed it in to my cooking/prepping routine… yet! (Maybe you can help motivate me đŸ˜‰
Do you have any dishes that you like to prepare ahead of time? What are some of your favourite breakfast ideas for busy mornings?
Kristin Jukes blogs at The Seasonal Family about the changes of life as a family from season to season. After the birth of her and her husband’s first child in 2008, she began to slowly change their families diet to one high in whole foods. With various food allergies, many of the recipes are wheat free, egg free, peanut free and refined sugar free. Now, a mommy of two little ones, her site content continues to expand to homesteading and homeschooling while striving to be a Godly wife and mother.
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this looks divine! can you share any tips on how to sprout brown rice?
Yes, I’d love some more info on sprouting rice too!
yes, it sounds great! where do you buy sprouted rice? any concerns about the phytic acid?
Dear Annie and Karissa, sprouting is ideal to get rid of the phytic acid, as it starts with soaking the rice overnight, which is already enough to diminish the phytic acid concern. You then simply drain the rice in a colander, wash it and drain well and return it to the bowl and let it stand at room temperature for 1-2 days, washing and draining it twice a day. You can decide yourself at which stage to stop, already in one day there has been a lot of change inside the grain, as stored reserves are transformed to substances the plant needs to grow.
In my household, I cooked soaked brown rice with pork, wolf berries ( great for improvement to eye vision; sweet tasting for kids) & garlic (for immunity; optional)
This looks great and you are right about making enough to last a few meals!
I am going to try this this weekend, we are trying to eat healthy on a tiny budget. This is the perfect thing for that! I also LOVE overnight crockpot oatmeal! If anyone us interested in my recipe it’s: 3 C. Rolled oats, 4 C. Milk,4 C. Water, a couple T.butter or coconut oil. Put in a crockpot, I put a light timer on it so it starts cooking about 4 hours before we wake up. Almost tastes like tapioca pudding!
This sounds great! Do you set your crockpot to low or high for a 4 hour cooking time?
I bet this could easily be done in the crockpot. I love getting up in the morning to breakfast already ready!
I put it on low. I love waking up to a healthy breakfast already cooked!
no faceboook like button how are we suppose to keep up on things!