WFPB Gingerbread Healing Porridge (Ayurvedic Postpartum Porridge)
A huge thank you to my midwives at Colorado Birth & Wellness for introducing me to this tasty postpartum porridge! Their go-to, post birth meal was deliciously nourishing and one that I craved for weeks after giving birth! And I think it goes without saying that this definitely beat out hospital food!
My family teases me that I can never just leave a recipe alone, and of course I had to tweak this one to make it even healthier than it already was!
At 3 weeks postpartum I am feeling great . . . should we thank the porridge?
Grains
Traditionally the Ayurvedic postpartum porridge is made with white Jasmine Rice. I wanted the extra protein, iron and other nutrients in whole grains and ultimately settled on making it out of half quinoa and half steel cut oats which created a creamy yet chewy texture.
Not only is quinoa an excellent source of protein and iron to aid your recovery, but both of these grains cook much more quickly than rice, only needing 5 min pressure in the Instant Pot rather than 20!
The possibilities are endless here, I imagine any grain combo you enjoy would work, as long as you keep the liquid and cook time similar for that particular grain.
Anti-Inflammatory Spices
The real magic here is the spice profile . . .generous amounts of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger and turmeric are powerful anti-inflammatory spices and this porridge is the perfect way to consume them generously!
This study tested the blood of participants who had consumed these spices in normal amounts and found that 3 of these spices (cloves, ginger and turmeric) had a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. This study was unique in that it was not a test tube experiment but much more closely resembles what real people might do in real life.
As an added bonus this combo tastes like gingerbread!
Fat
The Ayurvedic tradition is to make this porridge is made with a decent amount of ghee or sesame oil. While we do have evidence that some fat is necessary to boost the bioavailability of curcumin (the active component in turmeric), I suspect the 4g of fat per serving of quinoa is sufficient.
It took me a long time to get my brain around it, but fats consumed in whole plant form rather than in animal foods or processed oils is by far the best way to get our bodies the relatively small amounts of fat it needs.
My very favorite source of fat is ground flax as it has a number of health benefits and is a great source of omega 3s to aid in healing. It’s also been found to reduce blood pressure, fight and prevent some types of cancer, and even support weight loss. I often sprinkled some flax on top of my porridge before eating! Read more about the mountain of health benefits in flax here.
Sweeteners
If there’s a downside to this porridge, it’s that it calls for a decent amount of sweetener which is important to balance the strong flavors of these spices.
Over time I’ve become more and more sensitive to higher levels of sweetener, even unrefined and fruit based. So I’m always looking for ways to replace refined sweeteners (table sugar) with unrefined ones such as maple syrup or honey or to take things further with fruits such as dates and bananas.
Originally this recipe calls for 2 TBSP Molasses and 2 TBSP Agave. The molasses flavor is key to the overall taste of the postpartum porridge, so I generally kept that the same (though keep reading to learn more about yacon syrup). The agave is basically a more neutral sweetener that rounds out the flavor.
Not personally a fan of agave, I experimented with date syrup, honey, maple syrup, pureed dates, raisins, bananas and my latest discovery, yacon syrup.
What is Yacon Syrup?
Yacon Syrup is a Peruvian food made from the roots of the yacon plant. It is a sweetener with a flavor similar to molasses that is not only low calorie and has a low glycemic index. Further, there are some interesting studies that have found it to faciliate weight loss!
I just tried this brand and I like it! The taste is great for this recipe. The nice thing here is you can cook the porridge without the agave or other sweetener and then just sweeten to taste when you eat it. If you try yacon syrup I definitely recommend you add it after as it is not cheap! I’ll be hiding my jar from my kids!
Yacon syrup can vary quite a bit between the different brands. Many thanks to the Amazon Reviewer, Food, Glorious Food for their in depth taste tests and reviews. Check them out here, here and here!
I did not love the bananas, but just about everything else was a good option. I like stirring raisins into my hot cereal to add some sweetness to each bite, but usually added a drizzle of honey as well.
To use dates, I pureed 1/3 cup dates with the water in the recipe before adding to the instant pot. Everything else was tasty added before or after cooking.
And that’s it! Simply combine your grains, spices, water, sweetener and set your pressure cooker to cook for 5 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure, stir and enjoy!
I often doubled this and kept it in the fridge to pull out anytime I needed a snack!
This tasty porridge wasn’t my only takeaway from this relatively unconventional pregnancy and delivery. I learned so much to move toward good health whether or not you have a little one in your future. Hear all about it HERE.
Whether you’ve recently delivered a baby, had a surgery or just want to give your body a boost I hope you’ll try this and let me know how you like it!
| Prep Time | 7 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 2 TBSP Molasses see notes
- 2 TBSP sweetener of choice see notes
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- sprinkle black pepper
Ingredients
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- Combine all ingredients in bowl of Instant Pot. Secure lid, close sealing valve and use manual setting to cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then release remaining pressure and stir. Add plant milk, ground flax, raisins or other mix-ins of choice and enjoy.
Sweetener: The sweetener of choice can be added to taste after cooking. Or, puree 1/3 cup dates with the 3 cups water before adding to the pot. Yacon Syrup (Alovitox brand) has a similar thickness and flavor to molasses. I have only added it after cooking, but it should work just fine to add before in place of all or part of the molasses.
Grains: Feel free to experiment with your favorite combo of grains as well!