Banana porridge

This is a popular breakfast choice in our house come rain or shine... Quick, cheap, full of good stuff and one of Finn's favourites!

Studies have shown that in addition to providing iron and fibre, porridge helps regulate blood sugar. By adding a sneaky addition or two, such as banana and dried fruits, porridge can give kids an amazing breakfast time boost.

Serves 2 pre-schoolers.

Ingredients

• 1 medium banana chopped
• 1 knob of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of any supermarket oats (I use Scotch porridge oats because my folks are from up there and they are the ones we always had, but Quaker or own brand alternatives are fine).
• 2/3 cup whole milk plus a little for a moat on top
• Handful of raisins or other fruit
• A squeeze of honey

How to do it

1.  Add the banana, butter and cinnamon to a smallish heavy bottomed saucepan and cook on a low heat until the banana goes golden in colour and starts to really soften. Make sure you turn the banana to cook both sides

2.  Turn up the heat a little to medium and add the oats, milk, raisins and honey. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until most of the milk has been absorbed, stirring occasionally. It's really important that you don't cook it for too long or it becomes really stodgy. If the porridge does become too thick, just add a dash of milk or water to bring it back to your preferred consistency.

3. Pour it into a serving bowl and add a little more milk over the top. I always loved that as a child and it has the additional benefit of cooling the porridge down around the edges!