Review: 26 Grains

I love porridge. Like seriously adore it. It’s pretty much a hug in a bowl and with so many different toppings to choose, the combinations are endless!

I heard about 26 Grains when it first opened and was intrigued by the concept of a café solely dedicated to porridge: it sounded amazing.
They are nestled in the wonderful Neal’s Yard and offer a selection of sweet and savoury porridges (as well as a few other dishes). The menu is the perfect size, offering plethora of choices.

We started off with the matcha almond milk lattes which were  so delicious. I’ve recently been getting into matcha lattes since I’m not the biggest fan of coffee and they are delicious, especially when made with almond milk that gives them a natural sweetness to offset the ‘green’ taste of the matcha!

Then we were onto the good stuff!

We settled for a savoury porridge bowl with kale, avocado, egg and sriracha. I had a bit of the creamy oats that were perfectly seasoned. Although the bowl itself may not seem too filling, looks can be deceiving! It was the perfect comforting bowl and savoury porridge is something that I’ve loved for a while. For those you haven’t tried it, it’s like a Japanese rice porridge or congee.

My dish filled with rainbows and textures. Amazing is an understatement. It was like an explosion in your mouth, in the best possible way.
The bowl was filled with quinoa, turmeric roasted cauliflower, samphire, pickles and the best beetroot hummus ever. I’m drooling just thinking about it now! I mean, the bowl really says it all.
I would highly recommend this bowl, I would travel there again just to get my hands on it.

I can’t believe I hadn’t gone to 26 grains earlier because although the concept sounds simple, it’s far from it! I can’t wait to go back and try the waffles and the buckwheat wrap *heart eye emoji*
Here’s the full menu for those of you that are interested!

26 Grains
Website: www.26grains.com
Address: 2 Neal’s Yard, London WC2H 9DP
Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday: 8am-6pm, Friday: 8am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday: 10am-4pm

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Pumpkin Overnight Oats

Since I’m not feeling too great, I think this is a perfect breakfast for those lazy morning when you just don’t want to get out of bed.

My day basically consists of oatmeal (oh so warming!) with chicken soup and then more chicken soup. Which is totally ok with me, because it screams warm comforting nights!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Serves 1

A delicious and easy breakfast in the cold months when you want that extra 15 minutes in bed! Sweet notes from the pumpkin comes through whilst the cinnamon gives a Christmassy flavour! This recipe can also be warmed up on the stove top in the morning or baked for 20 minutes at 180ºC.

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup warm water or warm almond milk (can be substituted with soy, coconut or dairy milk)
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree (recipe below)
Cinnamon, to taste
Maple syrup, to taste

For garnishing: chopped apple, walnuts, coconut yoghurt, cinnamon

Mix the water, puree and oats together.

Set aside or put in the fridge for an hour or overnight.

I like to serve in a cute jar with chopped apple and walnuts.

Pumpkin Puree vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Makes 1 cup

This puree is perfect for any dish, sweet or savoury! You can make it into a soup, pasta sauce or even use it for pies! Also feel free to make it with kabocha or butternut squash.

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Cut pumpkin in half and poke holes in it and sprinkle with salt.

Place face down on baking tray and bake for 45 minutes.

Poke with a fork and it should be soft. If not, leave in for another 15 minutes, facing upwards in oven.

Once cooked, spoon contents into a blender and blend until smooth.

Coco-nutty Oatmeal

As you probably know, I’m a huge fan of oatmeal. Since I also love coconuts, I thought I’d try out a bit of a tropical flavour and it worked so well! The flavour of coconut and banana and nuts go super well together and the dollop of coconut yoghurt on top gives it that decadent feel!
I’m sure you could always make this into overnight oats and it would be equally delicious!

Sorry that there’s no video this week by the way – if you saw my last post, you’d see that I’m away so I’ve scheduled posts for the next 4 weeks! This oatmeal cooks the same way as you would make my other recipes, whether its banana bread oatmeal or strawberry oatmeal – so you can check those posts out for a tutorial!

Coco-nutty Oatmeal vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Serves 1

1 part oats
1 banana (1/2 mashed to put into the oatmeal)
1 part coconut milk
1 part boiling water
Handful of nuts
1 tablespoon of flaxseeds (I used Linwoods)
Dollop of coconut yoghurt (I used COYO)

Soak the oats in boiling water for about 15 minutes in the pan with the lid on.

After 15 minutes, add the coconut milk, mashed banana and flaxseeds.

Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes until desired consistency.

Serve in a bowl with bananas, chopped nuts and a dollop of yoghurt.