The Food Doctor Multigrain and Seed Porridge

I was browsing around the cereal aisle recently, trying to find my usual brand of porridge. I generally buy plain oats rather than the flavoured varieties as most contain a lot of added sugar. But this shopping trip led me to buy a different type of porridge from The Food Doctor.

Despite being tucked away on the bottom shelf, The Food Doctor's Multigrain & Seed Porridge stood out with its eye catching green apple logo and attractive pack design featuring a peek through window. The description ‘Indulgently packed with wholesome wholegrains & seeds’ tempted me to pick it up.

Quote from the pack:

‘Tasty British oats, barley, spelt and rye flakes layered with a nutritious seed mix make a wholesome breakfast base. It’s a fresh take on traditional porridge with interesting grains that add real texture and substance to your day.’ 

Out of the ‘healthy’ snack options, seeds are my favourite rather than, say raisins and I probably wouldn’t have bought it if contained raisins. Also, the cost, £2.99 at the time of purchase, made it about three times the price of my usual brand.

Here’s a look at the ingredients: oat flakes, barley flakes, spelt flakes, toasted rye flakes, chicory inulin, golden linseeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. There’s no added sugar and any sugars present are naturally occurring.

The bag of multigrain porridge

The instructions recommend cooking it in the microwave but it can be cooked traditionally in a saucepan. First you have to shake the pack to make sure all those little seeds are evenly distributed. Then you soak 50g of oats in 300ml of boiling water for a couple of minutes then cook for 3 minutes in the microwave. Wait a bit and add milk or more hot water to get the required consistency. 

I served this up to my daughters and myself. We added our usual sweetening ingredients and tucked in. Mmm, this multigrain porridge is pretty good. I love the crunchy texture and it takes slightly longer to eat than regular porridge. It is very filling and the recommended 50g provides a good two and a half servings. Overall, this is a really nice porridge, with lots of fibre and extra vitamins from the range of flakes and seeds.

All ready to enjoy

We've also tried a couple of alternatives, for example, mixing the porridge with muesli and adding cold milk. And it's equally as nice just adding some hot milk to the oats in a bowl and letting it soak for a minute or two.  

It's a shame this porridge is so expensive but it does last a while as a little goes a long way. Of course, if you had the time and inclination to do so, it would be easy enough to make on your own at home. But for those with a busy lifestyle who are looking for a filling, healthy and filling breakfast, this is a great alternative to regular porridge. 

A quick note about the inside pack which is a clear sort of cellophane. It splits very easily, especially if you take it out of the cardboard outer box. The instructions recommend shaking the contents to evenly distribute the seeds. To do this I take the inner pack out, and unfortunately one morning the entire pack split open with the contents emptying out onto the table.

The Food Doctor Multigrain & Seed porridge is available in major supermarkets.

Nutrition Information per 100g: 371 calories, 12.1g protein, 60.2g carbohydrates, 5.6g sugars, 6.9g fat, 1.1g saturates, 10.1g fibre, 0.13g salt. Suitable for vegetarians.

Per 50g serving made with water: 186 calories, 6.0g protein, 30.1g carbohydrate, 2.8g sugar, 3.4g fat,0.5g saturates, 5.1g fibre, 0.06g salt. Medium sugars, Medium fat, Medium saturates, Low salt.