With my husband's autoimmune healing diet, breakfast has been one of the most challenging meals. With no grains, dairy, nuts, or eggs, what's left to eat? With some experimentation, I developed this recipe for Butternut Coconut Porridge, and it has been my husband's favorite breakfast for the last few months.
This recipe starts with roasting butternut squash whole in the oven. This roasting method is super easy and hands-off. Once the squash has been roasted, it is mashed and combined with coconut manna, shredded coconut, lemon, cinnamon, and ginger. Yum!
I like to triple or quadruple this recipe, to make enough to last for a couple weeks. We freeze the porridge in single servings, and my husband just pulls them out from the freezer a few at a time, so they can thaw in the fridge. In the morning, he warms his porridge in the toaster oven or in a small pot on the stovetop. His favorite way to serve the porridge is topped with fresh apple.
About coconut manna - this has been a lifesaver for my husband with his restricted diet! It is a nourishing, hearty food that requires no preparation. It's good on its own, with fruit, with nuts, or even on toast. A friend of mine enjoys putting coconut manna in his coffee, and it is also great in savory foods such as curries. I love that coconut manna comes in a glass jar (instead of a can) and does not contain any thickeners like coconut milk generally does.
Butternut Coconut Porridge
Serves 3-4
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Inactive Cooking Time: 1.5-2 hours
Inactive Butternut Cooling Time: 15 minutes
Total Preparation Time: 2&1/2 hours
One large butternut, ~2.5 pounds
1 cup filtered water
1/3 cup coconut manna
1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 tsp dried cinnamon
1 tsp dried ginger
juice from one lemon (~2 Tb fresh lemon juice)
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: fresh apple, mango, banana, or blueberries
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pierce the butternut squash in several places with a sharp knife. This will allow steam to escape while the butternut is roasting.
Place the whole butternut in a glass roasting dish. Place in the oven and roast at 350 degrees F. After about an hour, carefully flip the butternut over.
Roast another 30-60 minutes, until the butternut is done. To test for doneness, wrap your hand with a dish towel and gently squeeze the butternut in several places. If it is soft enough to squeeze a bit, then it is done!
Remove the butternut from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Carefully use a knife to cut the butternut in half. This allows the butternut to cool quicker. Let it cool until you can handle it without getting burned.
Scoop out and discard the seeds and stringy bits. Being careful to not get any of the skin, scoop out the soft flesh with a spoon and place it into a medium pot.
Mash the cooked butternut with a potato masher.
Add the water, coconut manna, coconut, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Stir to combine. If your butternut is very cool, you may need to heat the pot to allow everything to get warm enough to stir together easily.
Make sure the heat is off, and then stir in the lemon juice.
Prepare your optional toppings. Serve and enjoy! Fresh apple is delicious on this porridge, but feel free to experiment to find your own favorite toppings.
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