Turmeric Persimmon Porridge, three words that individually make my taste buds giddy and when put together is truly a new favorite morning recipe in our home. Bennett loves oatmeal in most ways, but classic ways like with apple, cinnamon, butter or plain, so when I first had him taste test this porridge and received a thumbs up I knew it had passed the test. It’s one thing for me to love this recipe, but more important for it to appeal to you all because let’s face it, you’re the reason I create recipes! This porridge contains the obvious, turmeric, along with sweet and creamy persimmons, oats, and seeds that take this porridge to the the next level. I promise it’s far from boring oatmeal.
I’ve talked about the health benefits at length on turmeric, which you can check out here in my whole pantry page and with my famous Turmeric Milk recipe. For those of you who are new to the Nutrition Stripped lifestyle (hi + welcome), I adore using turmeric whenever I can whether it be in sweet or savory dishes and using it for classic American dishes with a twist.
Pretty persimmons. Persimmons are definitely one of my new favorite fruits in the past two years. If you’ve never tried one before, they remind me of a tomato, watermelon, date, and carrot that were thrown into one crazy hybrid seed and developed a fruit/vegetable child- that’s a persimmon. The texture is closer to a tomato and date, with a sweet yet earthy flavor. They’re fantastic to use raw, which I enjoy sliced in fall and winter salads, blended into smoothies or pureed into soups to add a bit of thickness and natural sweetness. Most of all, I love incorporating them into porridge like this one. Besides persimmons tasting great, they also contain the following nutrients which peak my interest in using them so often: vitamin A, C, E, K, potassium, copper, manganese, fiber, and carbohydrates/natural sugars. Especially now that persimmons are in season, I find myself buying so many of them and enjoying them as a pre-workout.
There’s something about a warming bowl of porridge in the cooler months of the year that just makes everything feel right- it’s cozy and feels like a healing hug in your stomach. Not only is the actual heat and warmth from porridge feel great in your stomach with the winter chill, but the turmeric is a warming spice and dare I say “healing” in the sense of it packing a punch of nutrition and health benefits that have been studied- to back it up. I adore turmeric year round but find myself especially incorporating it when fall and winter hit to help keep the immune system strong and again, it just tastes good!
I most often enjoy this Turmeric Persimmon Porridge as a breakfast, or breakfast #2 as I call it. Most mornings if not all, I start with my Stripped Green Smoothie or lately have been LOVING my Green Tart Smoothie as a lower sugar option; followed by a porridge, pancakes, or something a bit more grounding and not as cold like the meal in a bowl- smoothie bowl. This porridge, amongst many of my others, are very balanced both macronutrient speaking and flavor and texture speaking. I’m a huge fan of mixing complementary flavors and textures like soft and crunchy or sweet and savory- this one has it all. The persimmons are incredibly sweet and smooth when pureed, mixed with the chewiness of the oats, bitterness with pops of citrus from the sliced kumquats, a zing from fresh ginger, and earthy turmeric. I highly recommend not skipping out on adding kumquats! Kumquats are the very small yellow sliced citrus you see pictured here, they have edible skins and are incredible tart and bitter, yet when used in a small amount taste amazing with sweet and savory. If you’re not a fan of them or don’t have access to them, use the juice of a fresh lemon or orange and squeeze on the porridge right before serving- this will give it that nice flavor balance.
You’ll find a balance of complex carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates (mainly from the persimmon), fiber, protein, and healthy fats from the coconut. I enjoy this most by adding a heaping tablespoon of nut butter like almond butter or extra shredded coconut to add in a little more healthy fats to hold you over. You can also add a scoop of your favorite vegan protein powder approved by me or some hemp seeds for a boost.
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 medium persimmons (top leaves removed)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 inch fresh ginger root
- Pinch of sea salt
- Honey to drizzle
- To enjoy SOAKED/RAW: Using a high speed blender, blend coconut or almond milk, persimmon, ginger root, cinnamon, turmeric, and sea salt.
- In 2 small bowls, pour 1/2 cup oats and 2 tablespoons flax seed in each bowl. Pour equal amounts of the blended persimmon into the bowls and stir until combined. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
- To enjoy WARM: Pour the persimmon mixture into a small sauce pan on medium to heat, add the rolled oats and flax seed and continually stir to make sure the flax seed and oats are absorbing all the liquid.
- Cook on medium-low for 10-20 minutes (depending on your desired texture of oats, cook longer for softer oats, cook less for more chewy oats).
- To SERVE: top with fresh sliced persimmon, sliced kumquats, pinch of sea salt, drizzle of olive oil, pinch of ground cinnamon.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I have lately. What are your favorite porridge recipes from the blog? Any new morning recipes you’d like to see me makeover in a healthy way?
xx McKel
