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

Advertisement

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.

Banana Bread Oatmeal

Would you believe me if I told you this delicious, hearty warm bowl of oatmeal is gluten free, dairy free, sugar free AND packed with super foods?!

If you’ve been reading my How To Eat Healthily During Exams series, found here, here, here and here, you may have seen the banana bread oatmeal recipe, so I thought I’d do a post on it! This breakfast is just a superhero – Its so delicious and is so good for you! The chia seeds are packed with protein and fibre so keep you feeling full for ages and you can easily get a portion of fruit into it.

I also filmed a video here:

Banana Bread Oatmeal vegan, gluten free and dairy free
Serves 1

1/2 Banana
Oats (not the microwaveable kind)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (I use milled chia seeds from Linwoods)
Cinnamon, to taste
A few chopped up pecans and/or walnuts
Liquid of your choice, I used water, but feel free to use any milk
note: feel free to use any sweetener, but I feel its sweet enough if I use a ripe banana.

Put oats in a sauce pan with water just covering it and leave it for 10-15 minutes with a lid on so it soaks up the liquid.

While this is happening, mash 1/4 of the banana and slice the other quarter into slices.

One the oats have soaked up the liquid, put in the cinnamon, mashed banana and chia seeds.

Cook on low for about 5 minutes until chia seeds soak up the water and the oatmeal increases in volume.

Once it is done, serve it up in a bowl and top with banana slices and nuts.
Add any sweetener if liked.