Porridge: Oats + Seeds + Grains + Rice Hardcover – February 7, 2017

It’s just lovely

I just got back from a trip to San Francisco where though I expected to be wowed culinary wise – I did not expect that to extend to breakfast but I was wrong. From little restaurants off the beaten path with bowls of homemade yogurt with freshly made cereal toppings to the big chains such as Pete’s offering chia bowls and overnight oatmeal in comparison to my local stores selection of pasties and the mundane oatmeal in carton.I left inspired as though I tend to eat healthily, breakfast is a rushed job of coffee and Greek yogurt - not the healthy kind but the brand name where you pour some choc chip concoction over flavored Greek yogurt! I wanted more and as I sat in the airport reading a daily health blog I subscribe to; this book was referenced, so gift card in hand, I made the purchase.Now in full disclosure this book is wildly innovative and certainly inspiring but as the stunning and complex pictures suggest, this is not filled with quick easy suggestions to get you out of the door on a weekday morning. It will require some shopping as though I own a pretty well stocked pantry, this goes way beyond oats - requiring spelt, rye, amaranth, nut milks or the ingredients to make them, Inca berries, bee pollen, among other both mundane and exotic ingredients. There are also numerous steps to many of the dishes, requiring overnight soaking and preparing various toppings that finish the dish beforehand. I felt this was important to note as some potential buyers may be turned off by the steps or ingredients involved.Without knowing exactly what I was buying due to lack of reviews at the time of purchase, or the ability to “look inside” via Amazon, I was actually pretty surprised at how detailed this book is. When we think of porridge, we tend to think breakfast but this book contains ideas for any time of the day as is broken up into 5 main chapters: Bases, Sweet, savory, toppings and snacks.The beginning introduces us to the author and her life in Finland where the cold and often 20 hour dark days lend her to craving warm, comforting food which is where the porridge comes in. Her food philosophy is healthy, whole foods, and a plant based diet and her passion is photography; so taking these ideas, we get a book full of healthy, porridge based dishes combined with stunning artistry and amazing photography.The first chapter - bases - looks at nut milks, chia eggs and juice mixtures one would use as the base of the dish, and then we go into sweet dishes. Again it’s worth noting that particularly when you arrive at the toppings, some are simple say coconut, but others will refer you to another recipe you will have to have prepared in advance such as homemade date chutney. That said, you can exercise some creativity and include / exclude certain toppings. Also note each recipe is for ONE serving, which might be worth noting if you are looking to prepare meals for a familyThe savory dishes were a surprise but a pleasant one with warming dishes such as oats, kale, tofu and sweet potato or black rice miso and shitake. Toppings include everything from granola, ice cream, nut butters and even carrot bacon. Snacks include chia cups, porridge bars and maca balls which is my next to do from this book. So far I have only made some of the additional ideas such as the edamame hummus (delicious and simple) and toppings, as the bowls require more ingredients than I have on hand; but as I replicate some of the dished I will update with pictures accordinglyOverall I like this book and it is really different from anything else out there. I gave it 4 not 5 stars for a couple of reasons -the sheer complexity of ingredients and in some cases steps involved – there are few ingredients that I can make right off the bat (even with a very, very well stocked pantry with maca, nutritional yeast, spirilina etc); and the lack of any nutritional information which I really would have liked as breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and I would really like to know nutritional content with protein, overall calorie content etc. That said this is innovative, full of beautiful photography and is certainly inspiring to me to get out of my comfort zone and try some new super food bowls.

Love this book very pleased with the photos and recipes.

Will study how to use oatmeal.

Interesting cookbook offering a nice variety of unique recipes!

saw this book at the magnolia market in Waco for double the price so glade a waited to buy online good book with some recipes i will use almond milk ,breakfast bowls on the go , looks great in my kitchen

I visited Anni's little restaurant (Date+Kale) in Helsinki and it was one of the most creative, delicious meals I had. And it felt good to have clean good food. Yes, her recipes require planning and some of the fresh ingredients are not readily available in the US. But, there are plenty of short cuts and substitutes. And her presentation techniques are simple to follow.Although Anni does not identify herself as vegan, her recipes are clean and 99% vegan with options to make them 100% vegan. I didn't think vegan, gluten-free could be this good!

This is a really small cookbook - 6.5 inches by 8.5 inches. The font is tiny, making it very difficult to read.