As a long time cereal eater, this hearty porridge helped me through my first whole30 and although I don’t make it often, it’s always a treat. It’s super versatile for a variety of diets- whole30, paleo, keto, vegan. It’s not sweet, but you could easily add banana or dates (whole30), maple syrup (vegan, paleo), honey, stevia, monkfruit sweetener, etc. I find with a little fruit on top I don’t need added sweetener. You can use any combination of nuts, and although I used pumpkin, you can use any cooked winter squash or sweet potato.

If I haven’t mentioned before, I’m not one for strict recipes. When I cook at home I throw stuff in till it’s right; when I try something new, I look at a few recipes for the same thing then put something together. Even today, as I was trying to use measuring tools for the purpose of posting this porridge, I added more of this or that without them, guessing about how much I used as I went along. I want to say this is odd for someone who decided to start a blog about preparing food, but I don’t read too much on blogs, skimming the content then scrolling to the recipe (have you seen some of those blog posts- they are LONG). Anyway, I like “recipes” that can be easily adjusted and that don’t need to be exact to create something delicious. Besides being warming and delicious, this porridge meets those needs. If you decide to make this, keep in mind that most of my measurements can be adjusted for your tastes; I would say this holds true for most of the stuff I make.

Make sure you soak the nuts, and make sure you blend them for a while. I would say those are the only “rules”.

Paleo Porridge

• 4 cups nuts/coconut (this time I used about 3c. cashews and hazelnuts and 1/2c. each of almonds and coconut, but have used different combinations in past- walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc. in the past- basically whatever I have)
• 1/2 can pumpkin (I have used sweet potato or butternut squash in the past- about 3/4 c.)
• 2t. vanilla (use vanilla bean for whole30)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1.5 t. cinnamon
• 1t. cardamom (use any combination of spices you like)
• 1/2t. fresh ground nutmeg (fresh ground may sound bougie, but it’s amazing)

Soak the nuts/coconut overnight. Drain and put into food processor with pumpkin and spices and start blending. Add coconut milk a little at at time until you get the consistency you like. Don’t rush this- I just let it go until it’s really smooth. I used about 2/3 of the can of coconut milk, but ended up adding the rest during the cooking process. Check the spice and add more if desired. Once it’s nice and smooth, put into a pot and cook over med low heat till bubbly; lower heat and cook about 10 minutes.

I wonder if it really needs to be cooked or not. The recipes I’ve seen in the past call for it, but I don’t know the science enough to know what the cooking does except to blend the flavors. I felt like I could have stopped after the food processor and just heat it as I eat it.

This is a great meal prep recipe you can eat all week. I haven’t frozen it yet, but think it would be fine. I like mine with some berries or other fruit (frozen cherries or raisins are good too). Sometimes I add almond milk and an extra sprinkle of spice. ❤