The Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook | Soya Protein Porridge

As I don’t eat meat but spend a lot of time in the gym, it’s incredibly important for me to eat a wide variety of other proteins. I wouldn’t recommend heavily-processed synthetic proteins such as mycoprotein (Quorn), but I do still champion pure whey isolate, provided that it’s devoid of sweeteners and other unnecessary ingredients, and it’s whey that forms the basis of one of my favourite breakfasts: protein porridge.

For the sake of a variety, though, every once in a while I mix things up with an almost vegan alternative. You’ll hear many criticise soya-derived proteins as being incomplete, or even feminising, but when enjoyed as part of a varied vegetarian diet I’ve never suffered any detrimental effects after consuming them– quite the opposite, in fact. Whether I’m using soya or whey for my post-workout shake, my gains seem to be similar. The same rule applies to my all-important, fast-breaking protein porridge – whether it’s made of soya or whey, it sets me up for the day with its near-perfect fusion of slow-burning, muscle-maintaining nutrients.

An important note for this recipe is that if you vary from the brands that I’ve specified, you risk using inflammatory ingredients. Nature’s Garden’s pure soya protein isolate powder is one of the few that I’ve found that’s genuinely free from sweeteners and preservatives; all it contains beyond the soya protein isolate is soya lecithin (as an emulsifier) and silicon dioxide (as an anti-caking agent). Thus far, Alpro’s organic unsweetened wholebean soya milk is the only commercial cows’ milk substitute that I’ve found that I can drink without suffering an arthritic flare-up. It contains just hulled soya beans and water; that’s it. As ever though, you pay more for less.

75g natural rolled oats [75p per 1kg, so 6p]

28g Nature’s Garden pure soya protein isolate powder [£19.19 for 908g, so 59p. Often cheaper, in fact, as it’s often on “Buy One, Get One Half Price” in Holland and Barrett]

15g clear honey [99p for 340g, so 4p]

250ml organic wholebean soya milk [£1.39 per 1l, so 35p]

TOTAL COST TO MAKE ONE BOWL: £0.06 + £0.59 + £0.04 + £0.35 = £1.04

TOTAL COST PER BOWL: £1.04

ONE
Put the oats in a saucepan before adding the soya milk and a level scoop (28g) of the protein powder. I’d recommend adding a pinch of rock salt and a little coconut oil too, though these aren’t accounted for in the nutritional information provided.
 
TWO
Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes, stirring constantly to ensure that the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

THREE
Pour into a bowl and add a spoonful of honey to sweeten.