My favourite breakfasts are the grab and go variety, although I’m partial to a weekend pancake, which can be made easily from the simple ingredients already on your shopping list. I like to smuggle fruit into my breakfast to get one or two of my five a day underway without giving it much thought! I’ll bake a banana bread on the weekend and slice and freeze it ready to toast in the morning, and the berry pots keep for three days after making so can be made in a batch, making mornings easier. The granola keeps for a month in a sealed jar. Of course, you can always just buy a packet of cheap cornflakes (35p for 400g) and be done with it and skip this section entirely, it’s down to you.
SODA BREAD – can be used for breakfast toast, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, pork sandwiches, etc. You can make two of these loaves through the week from your bag of flour. No breadmaker or rising time required. I pop mine in the oven whenever it’s on for roasting anything, like the pork or when cooking the granola – to save me turning it on again just for bread. Make two at once and freeze one, pre sliced, for later in the week.
2 tsp bottled lemon juice
300ml milk
400g self raising flour
1 ½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda
a fistful of sultanas – optional
Preheat your oven to 180C. Put the milk powder in a jar with 100ml water, screw the lid on tightly and shake it well to dissolve – it’s much nicer than stirring it, which can leave it a bit lumpy! Add the rest of the water, and the lemon juice, and stand it to one side to curdle slightly and start to separate. It looks a bit gross, but that’s normal.
Weigh the flour into a bowl, add the bicarb and mix through. Make a well (dip) in the centre of the flour and pour in the milk-and-lemon. Mix well with a spoon to form a sticky dough. Grease and lightly flour a loaf tin or cake tin, and pour the dough in from the bowl. Score a line down the middle with a sharp knife and dust with a little extra flour. Place in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes. Once baked through, it should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and feel light. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Spread with jam, peanut butter, mashed bananas or cheese to serve.
Banana Bread:
3 old bananas
75ml sunflower oil
225g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
80g sultanas
Preheat your oven to 180C, and lightly grease your loaf tin. Peel the bananas, slice and mash with a fork in a large mixing bowl. If the bananas aren’t of the old, squishy variety, add a little of the oil to start them off (or ping them in the microwave for 10 seconds, peeled and in a microwave-safe bowl). Add the oil and sugar to the bowl and mix well. Tip in the flour, baking powder, and sultanas if using, and stir well to form a lumpy batter. Pour it into the loaf tin and bake for an hour, until risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. It freezes well, slice it first for convenience, or keeps in an airtight bag or container for 3 days.
Peanut Butter Granola – again, can be put in the oven when something else is cooking, most of my recipes are 180C for that very reason, so I can cook things together and save on energy bills. A flat baking tray will sit at the bottom of the oven but will cook more slowly than the specified recipe time as heat rises, so just check it and give it as long as it needs.
25ml sunflower oil
4 tbsp peanut butter
4 tbsp sugar
300g porridge oats
Preheat your oven to 180C. Lightly grease your baking tray with a little oil. Melt the peanut butter and sugar together – either in a saucepan on a low heat or ping it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in the oil. Add the oats and mix well. Tip it onto a baking tray, flatten roughly with a spoon, to spread approx 1cm thick. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 mins until golden (lower shelves will take longer!). Remove and allow to cool for a further 15 mins, before roughly breaking up any large pieces with the side of a spoon (or sharp knife). Allow to cool completely before transferring to a jar or airtight container.
Berry Bircher Pots:
100g mixed frozen berries
250ml natural yoghurt
150ml milk
100g porridge oats
sultanas to garnish
Combine the oats, yoghurt and defrosted berries in a bowl. Make up the milk by pouring 100ml water into a jar, add the milk powder, seal tightly and shake well. Add the remaining 100ml milk to thin it. Pour this in gradually and stir well. Spoon into small dishes for convenience or one large one (you can turf the remaining yoghurt into a glass or cup, cover and put back in the fridge and put the berry bircher back into the yoghurt pot, if you like – it just about fits!) Make in advance and the oats will soften and swell and it will thicken back to a yoghurt consistency, magic!
Berry Good Smoothie
100g frozen berries
a handful of sultanas
30g oats
1 banana
600ml milk
Slice the banana and pop in the blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blitz until smooth, and serve.
Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie:
2 bananas
2 tbsp peanut butter
4 tbsp oats
600ml milk
Slice the banana and pop in the blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blitz until smooth, and serve.
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Jack Monroe. November 2015.