“What do you want to eat?”
“I don’t knowww… I just need something!!”

On dancing days, working out what to eat can be difficult. Breakfast quickly feels like a distant memory after catching the train, walking up too many hills and stairs, AND doing a full ballet class. Often we feel we “need something” to continue into the rehearsal hours before lunch.

We are always on the search for satisfying and nutritious ‘somethings’, and one of our latest creations is super tasty and easy-to-make Power Porridge!

One of the best things about this is that the ingredient list is totally open. You can be entirely creative. We get ideas from interesting ingredients we want to try, and things that are super nutritious.The taste often develops overnight in the fridge, and we are always excited to take it to work and try it after morning class. These recipes are definitely not an exact science, and that’s why it is so much fun!

Basic Power Porridge Recipe

1. Boil water in a saucepan or pot. Don’t overdo it – you can always top up the water as necessary, but careful not to end up making a soup instead of porridge!
2. Add some kind of whole grain. (Such as brown rice, barley, buckwheat, oat groats, quinoa, etc). Check the package to get an idea how long the grains need to cook, and how fast or slow you need to be with the other ingredients. You can also add vanilla or spices or coconut milk to your cooking water, so the flavour gets into the grain.
3. Whilst the grains are cooking, chop up and prepare other ingredients. (Such as fresh or dried fruits, nuts, seeds, coconuts, vegetables, etc). You can even heat or stir fry some ingredients in a pan alongside if want to add a toasted flavour.
4. Throw them in the pot enthusiastically when the time seems right! If you have ingredients that you don’t want to overcook (ie. you don’t want fresh bananas dissolving into mush), then add them when the grains are almost done.
5. Add a minimum of sweetness with honey if necessary. Fruit does most of the job – often only an extra tablespoon is needed at most. Taste and check! Remember the final flavour will not be settled until it has cooled in the fridge.
6. Eat your creation and feel happy!

A few mouthfuls of this stuff really guards against the blood sugar dips and brain faze-outs (very bad during rehearsal!)… and prevents face-stuffing of empty calories, sugar, and caffeine. Quality food keeps your body stable, so it can take care of itself. It also keeps your mind healthier. Sometimes we are so distracted by our physical bodies, that we forget that our minds and emotional state are affected by food too.

It is great to have something nutritious waiting in the fridge, just a spoonful away, no matter what kind of day it is. Power porridge is an easy way to throw quality ingredients together, be creative with different foods, and be the ‘something’ we need!

Want more?

Here is a recipe we made last week, as an example. (A lot of these were guess-timations, and created in the moment, as always… that’s the fun part.) This one tasted like a true tropical dessert and is our favourite power porridge yet!

Pina Colada Power Porridge

• Organic wholegrain red rice (3/4 cup)
• Fresh young coconut (water and flesh scooped out)
• Organic dessicated coconut (1/3 cup)
• Fresh pineapple (whole small fruit, chopped into chunks)
• White Lotus seeds (100g package)
• Macadamia nuts (large handful, roughly chopped)
• Honey (1tbsp)
• Pandan (two leaves, tied into knot)

1. Boil the rice, with the pandan leaves, in water. (Pandan is like Asian vanilla – remove after cooking!).
2. Chop everything that needs chopping and open the fresh coconut.
3. Once the rice water is getting low, add the coconut water, and the dessicated coconut (so it will all soak in). Throw in the lotus seeds. (Lotus seeds are used in Chinese medicine and desserts).
4. In a pan, lightly heat pineapple and tbsp of honey with macadamia nuts to combine.
5. Check the rice is cooked, and then throw everything together in the rice pot (turn off heat), adding the warm pineapple mix and fresh coconut flesh.
6. Cool, refrigerate, and take to work! (We made lots and put some in the freezer for later.) The recipe is 100% customisable, and welcomes any creative changes!