5 Days of Porriage

Many of you may have noticed the new porridge that Weight Watchers has brought out and is now available in the shop at meeting.  I have to admit that I am a Oats So Simple girl and have pretty much had a bowl of it for breakfast most days since I became a member of Weight Watchers in September of 2010.  In the interest of being able to tell you guys about it and answer any questions you might have I thought the only thing to do was to try a box of it.  Not one to just eat plain porridge I decided to try it five different ways.

Day 1

Needing to know how it tasted on it own I made it plain as the directions say.  I was a little skeptical as to whether it would keep me feeling as full long as my Oats So Simple as it is 35g compared to Oats So Simple being 50g.  The direction say to mix with 150ml of water (there is skim milk powder hence no need for milk).  I have to say come lunch time with my normal mid morning snack I was just as satisfied.  I am not a lover of plain porridge and usually tend to choose flavored Oats So Simple packets so this was not my favorite way to eat it but as far a plain porridge goes it was nice and creamy.  It has a finer texture closer to Ready Brek but I didn't find this to be a minus. Made as directed on the back of the packet it has 3 ProPoints compared to 5ProPoints that my Oats So Simple has.

Day 2

On day two I decided to add frozen berries to my porridge while cooking it.  Knowing that the berries would add water to the mixture as they cooked I only added 100ml of water and used approximately 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries.  I used the basics range from Sainsburys for £1.00 and can usually get 5 servings out of a bag.  I also increased the cooking time and cooked for one minute longer than instructed on the back of the packet.  As all microwaves vary please consult your microwave manual and remember that there is always the risk of porridge boiling over.  I have to say this was one of my favorite ways of all five days and something I will be doing regularly from now on. As berries are Zero ProPoints it still had a value of 3ProPoints.

Day 3

Having enjoyed day two so much I made the porridge exactly the same but added sliced banana after it had cooked.  I had a long morning and knew I needed something that would stay with me until lunch and adding the banana really did the trick.  I didn't have time to have my mid morning snack but was still quite satisfied when lunch time came around.  As all I added was Zero ProPointed fruit it still had a value of 3ProPoints.

Day 4

Not expecting to be running my test on what happened to be the hottest days of the year I decided to try something different and make a Morning Glory a smoothie with porridge oats added.  Being adventurous I didn't even bother to look up a recipe I just decided to wing it.  I used approximately 1/2 a cup of frozen berries(Zero ProPoints) 1 Muller Light Vanilla yogurt (2 ProPoints), and a packet of dry Weight Watchers porridge oats (3 ProPoints).  Blended all of the ingredients in my blender and poured into a glass.  While it was cool and refreshing I have to say that the porridge oats added nothing to the smoothie and if anything made it a little gritty.  Having done some research since I have learned that normally when making a Morning Glory you would soak the porridge oats in juice before hand (I wouldn't recommend this with the Weight Watchers porridge oats as they have milk powder in them) or the oats are made up before hand and allowed to cool before adding to the mixture.  I think I might have to revisit this recipe in the future making the oats up in advance.  As I made the recipe it has a value of 5 ProPoints.

Day 5

Having heard members talk about adding yogurt to their porridge previously I thought I would give it a go.  As I like my porridge quite thick I added 100ml water and cooked the normal time on the packet.  I then added a Weight Watchers Toffee Apple yogurt and sliced a banana and mixed well.  The porridge was super creamy and the toffee apple flavor gave it an almost desert feel.  I will definitely be trying this again. 

Over All

I was quite impressed with the product.  As it has milk powder in it you only need to use water making it easy to throw in your hand bag if you need a breakfast that will travel (no need to worry about if there will be milk at work). For a complete break down on how it compares with other products on the market please click on the link.