Text and images – Shirin Saluja

As my gentle nod to Halloween, I am excited to share with you a pumpkin spice  porridge. inspired by the coming of the fall, this simple yet extremely healthy plant-based breakfast treat is delicious  and will fuel you for hours. I have also thrown in a special pumpkin spice bonus recipe right at the end, so keep reading along.

Pumpkin Spice Porridge is not just a fitting breakfast for Halloween; you could eat this throughout autumn and winter. All ingredients in the Pumpkin Spice Mix have amazing health benefits and excellent medicinal properties. Not to mention that these spices smell divine and will keep you warm in the cold and harsh winter months.

Pumpkin Spice Mix is made with equal parts of ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. If you don’t have access to allspice you can leave that out and it will still be a very authentic pumpkin spice mix.

Nutmeg is known to relieve pain, aid digestion, help with skin repair and improve blood circulation amongst many other health benefits. Cinnamon is packed with anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Cloves help reduce inflammation, aid digestion and ahem could boost sexual health. Medicinal properties of ginger are known to help with digestion, flu, cold, sore throat and other infections. It is packed with anti-oxidants and has strong anti-inflammatory powers and can also help with nausea, muscle pain, menstrual cramps and indigestion. Pumpkin is a rich source of vitamin A and that leads to good vision, healthy skin, strong teeth & bones. Pumpkin can help lower blood pressure, help you sleep better and help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Oats can be bought gluten free and make for incredible breakfasts. The fiber content makes them great for high cholesterol, keeping you regular and keeping you sated till the next meal. If you aren’t on a grain free diet, you should definitely find a way to incorporate oats into your daily diet for their health benefits.

To make Pumpkin Spice Porridge you will need the following-

For Porridge
1 and half tablespoons of pumpkin puree
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla paste or extract
1 cup of rolled gluten free oats or ‘groats’
1 and half cups of almond milk or coconut milk or any other plant milk of choice

For Toppings
1 tablespoon of almond butter
A handful of blueberries, dried figs, pumpkin seeds
A drizzle of maple syrup
A pinch of pumpkin spice mix & some pumpkin bits for a pop of colour

Method
Put a pan on the hob, throw in oats, mashed banana, milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice mix, vanilla extract and cook on medium to low heat for 5-7 minutes whilst stirring everything consistently. You could also cook this in the microwave but I just prefer cooking on the good old hob.

Natural sugar in the ripe banana is enough to make your porridge sweet but if you want extra sweetness, feel free to add any natural sweetener of choice. I have drizzled a tiny amount of pure, Grade A maple syrup to top my porridge as well as some fresh blueberries, dried figs, a generous dollop of almond butter and pumpkin seeds.

For me, the best part about cooking any dish is styling it before serving (or for taking photos). And this is where you can let your creativity take over. Feel free to top your porridge with nuts, fruit & seeds that you love and whatever seasonal fruit is available to you locally.

Bonus Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte #PSL

Add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of coconut sugar and ½ a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix to a pan with a cup (200 ml) of almond or coconut milk. Heat this milk, whisking and stirring for about 5 minutes. Use a sieve to get rid of pumpkin puree while pouring the hot milk infusion into a mug. Add a shot of espresso; sprinkle some pumpkin spice mix on top. Voila there you have it, your very own clean & healthy plant-based pumpkin spice latte. I use coconut sugar to sweeten my PSL but feel free to use any sweetener that you prefer. I promise you this tastes much better than Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte and is definitely not loaded with an insane amount of sugar.

I hope you get to try these Halloween inspired pumpkin spice recipes. If you do, share pictures, tag us on Instagram or leave us comments down below. We would love to hear from you. Happy Halloween xxx

Featured Image Courtesy- Pixabay

About Shirin Saluja –
Made in India, Awakened in England. Spiritual Plant Based Yogi. That’s me. February 2016- I turned plant based, I say plant based because I am not 100% vegan. If I am travelling or out & about and can’t get my hands on something vegan, I’ll settle for vegetarian.

I think each one of us on this planet in this lifetime need to take personal responsibility of who we choose to be and how we choose to live. Turning plant based is my first step towards making conscious changes in my life and it is not just for health reasons, it is also for spiritual & environmental reasons and out of deep compassion towards other living beings. I also understand that living a vegan lifestyle is not just about food, it has to be a 180 degree shift which I m nowhere near.  I am trying to make healthier choices towards food & lifestyle so that I can be kinder to myself and environment around me.

I am thrilled to be contributing to Jia’s beautiful blog, sharing my journey with this awesome community and hopefully make some new friends along the way…

My instagram handle is –https://www.instagram.com/shirinsalujaa/?hl=en
My website is http://www.shirinsaluja.com/