CARROT CAKE OVERNIGHT OATS

I definitely find that eating a nutritious, filling breakfast sets the tone for my whole day's eating. However, with two little girls to get fed, dressed, kitted up and out the door by 8.30am, mornings in our house can be hectic and if I'm running short on time I often find myself skipping breakfast.

That's why I'm loving overnight oats right now. When I get up in the morning, all I have to do is grab the bowl from the fridge, take a spoon out the drawer and dig right in! Sure, they take a bit of pre-preparation but I can honestly say that I put can them together in five minutes flat (usually while I'm cooking our evening meal) and one batch will last me two breakfasts.

Overnight oats need never become boring because it's so easy to change up the ingredients for new and exciting flavour combinations. Carrot might seem like an odd ingredient to use but, trust me, it totally works!

Carrot cake is my absolute favourite cake so these carrot-cake-inspired overnight oats were always going to be a winner for me. They marry together all the delicious flavours of the a traditional carrot cake - the sweet carrot, warming spices, juicy sultanas and hint of zesty orange - and the walnuts add a welcome crunch against the soft oats.

Carrot cake for breakfast? Yes, please!

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats

Serves 2

80g rolled oats
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground mixed spice
40g sultanas
25g walnut pieces
1 carrot, peeled and finely grated (about 80g prepared weight)
finely grated rind of 1 orange
400ml semi-skimmed milk or unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp maple syrup

Put the oats and spices in a large bowl and mix until the spices are evenly distributed. Add the sultanas, walnuts, grated carrot and orange rind and stir well.

Divide the mixture between two bowls (or jars/leak-proof containers if you intend to transport the overnight oats). Pour half the milk into each bowl - it should just cover the ingredients. Top each with 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup and stir gently, then cover with clingfilm or a lid and chill in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, simply give the mixture a good stir and dig in.

Tips

• I prefer to use finely grated carrot in this recipe because it softens nicely overnight; coarsely grated carrot retains more of its crunch.
• I've used cow's milk but you can, of course, use non-dairy milk. I've tried this recipe using unsweetened almond milk and it was equally delicious.

HONEY, ALMOND & PECAN GRANOLA

January is all about getting into healthy habits, right? I've got into the rather bad habit of skipping breakfast recently - I know lots of people don't eat breakfast but, for me, it's a diet disaster because I end up feeling ravenous mid-morning and snacking on biscuits and other unsuitable stuff.  Having this granola in the cupboard means that I'm more likely to be tempted to eat breakfast and I've been having it with low-fat Greek yogurt and fresh fruit to pack in extra protein and nutrients.

Now I know that granola is possibly a little on the sweet side to be considered a health food (or even an everyday food) but at least by making your own granola you know exactly how much sweet stuff there is in it. You can also tailor it to your own personal preferences - many commercial granolas contain lots of sugar-heavy dried fruit (especially raisins, which I'm not a fan of) so I like the fact that this version is fruit-free.

I was actually surprised at how simple this was to make - and it smells amazing when it's cooking! It's a good one to make with kids too because they can weigh out the ingredients and mix them together and, to be honest, it's difficult to get wrong. The only real danger comes from the potential to burn it, which is why I've used a fairly low oven temperature.

Honey, Almond & Pecan Granola

Makes 450g

200g jumbo oats

50g sunflower seeds

25g pumpkin seeds

50g flaked almonds

25g pecans, broken into small chunks

75ml honey

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.

Place the oats, seeds and nuts in a large bowl.

Put the honey, oil and vanilla extract in a small jug and beat until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until the oat mixture is thoroughly coated. Tip onto a baking tray (you'll need to use one with a rim) and press down with a spatula.

Transfer to the preheated oven and bake, stirring halfway, for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown. Leave to cool on the baking tray, then transfer the granola to an airtight container.

Tips

• You want the granola to form clumps so resist the temptation to stir it too often once it's in the oven. I stir it halfway through, then press it down with a spatula before returning it to the oven.
• If you want to add dried fruit to the granola, stir it into the cooled granola (rather than baking it).
• Regular vegetable oil that you can buy in the supermarket (UK ones anyway) is usually rapeseed oil. It's a good neutral-tasting oil that is low in saturated fat and high in mono-unsaturated fat.
• Please note that nuts (especially whole ones) can be a choking hazard for young children - personally, I wouldn't give this granola to any child under 5.

SUPER-QUICK PEAR & CHOCOLATE PORRIDGE

It's suddenly got pretty cold and nippy in the mornings in my part of the world, so a nice, warming bowl of porridge has been a very welcome addition to the breakfast menu – and a good incentive to get out of  bed in the morning!

It's not the traditional way, of course, but I've always used my microwave to cook porridge. I used to buy individual sachets of microwave oats but then I discovered that you could get large bags of superfast oats that were essentially the same raw ingredient, only a lot cheaper. The only downside to cooking porridge in the microwave is that it has a tendency to boil over so you can't just bung it in and go off to do something else while it cooks – you need to watch it. It only takes 3 minutes though! I think the choice of  bowl helps too - if you use a deep bowl, rather than a shallow one, it is less likely to boil over.  

I've eaten porridge with various toppings over the years but it only occurred to me very recently to try pear and chocolate and now it's one of my favourites. The hazelnuts add a bit of crunch, which is a nice contrast to the creamy porridge.

Super-quick pear and chocolate porridge

Serves 1
40g superfast/quick-cook oats
285ml semi-skimmed milk (or other milk of your choice)
1 tbsp dark chocolate chunks
1 small pear, peeled and chopped
10 hazelnuts, chopped (optional)

Put the oats into a deep bowl and pour in the milk. Microwave on High for 2 minutes, stirring halfway (my microwave is 900W – if your microwave is a different wattage, adjust the timings accordingly).

Stir in the pear and cook for a further minute. It's important to watch the porridge closely as it cooks as it can easily boil over – if it looks like it's going to, remove from the microwave and give it a stir,  then continue to cook in 15 second bursts. Leave to stand for 1 minute to allow the porridge to thicken.

Stir in the chocolate chunks and hazelnuts, if using. Tuck in!

APPLE, CINNAMON & RAISIN OVERNIGHT OATS

The apple tree in our garden has produced a good crop this year. Unfortunately, the apples are a little sour for my liking (and the kids say they're 'yuck') so I'm having to come up with different ways to use them up and disguise the taste without resorting to heaping on the sugar.

Happily, this dilemma reminded me of a recipe I used to make a few years ago. Overnight oats are all the rage at the moment but when I first made this it was known as Bircher muesli. Back then, I made it to take to work with me and had a cute insulated canister to carry it in (any excuse to buy a new item of kitchen kit!) but you really don't need this - any leakproof container will do, or just a bowl if you're eating at home.

I've been meaning to revisit overnight oats for a while, so my glut of apples provides me with the perfect opportunity. The raisins provide a pop of sweetness and the cinnamon pairs so well with the apples (think apple pie and mulled apple juice...mmmmm!).

If you're using rolled oats, it's best to leave them to soak overnight but if you use quick oats, which are more finely milled, they would be fine to eat after soaking for an hour or so. I prepare mine the night before because I find that easiest and I like the oats nice and soft. You can add the apple (along with maybe a sprinkling of nuts or seeds, or a dollop of yogurt) on the morning of eating if you prefer, but I don't think that's necessary because the apple doesn't go brown and yucky overnight as you might expect.

Apple, cinnamon & raisin overnight oats

Serves 2

1 apple

70g oats

40g raisins

1 tsp ground cinnamon

400ml milk of choice

Grate the apple (including the skin) into a large bowl. Add the oats, raisins and cinnamon and stir gently to combine.

Divide the mixture between two small bowls or 300ml capacity jars, then pour over the milk to cover. Transfer to the fridge overnight.