slow chocolate porridge
February often carries a quieter invitation — to soften, to listen more closely, and to care for ourselves in small, steady ways. This February edition of Lives & Forks Lunch Club brings together two deeply comforting foods: chocolate and porridge. Simple ingredients, yes — but when prepared with intention, they become something more than breakfast.
Across cultures, warm grain-based meals have long been eaten during times of rest, recovery, and transition. Cacao, too, has a rich history of ritual and reverence — consumed slowly, valued not only for its flavour but for how it supports mood, focus, and emotional steadiness. This recipe isn’t a traditional cacao ceremony, but it borrows the spirit of one: slowing down, paying attention, and allowing food to support both body and hormones with gentleness rather than force.
In our February Lunch Club session, we explored chocolate cravings through a different lens — not as a failure of willpower, but as the body’s intelligent request for minerals, warmth, energy, and comfort. This slow chocolate porridge is designed to meet that need. With magnesium-rich cacao, blood-sugar-balancing oats, and nourishing fats from almond butter, it’s a bowl that steadies both mood and metabolism.
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Now, let’s make a breakfast that doesn’t rush you — one that invites warmth, rhythm, and a little softness into your morning.
why this recipe?
Chocolate and porridge are both foods with long histories of comfort, nourishment, and care. Across cultures, warm grain-based meals have traditionally been eaten during times of rest, recovery, and transition. Cacao, too, has been consumed slowly and intentionally — valued not just for flavour, but for how it makes us feel.
This recipe isn’t a traditional cacao ceremony, but it borrows the spirit of ritual: slowing down, paying attention, and allowing food to support both body and mood.
Nutrition & Hormone Support
Raw cacao
Naturally rich in magnesium and polyphenols, cacao supports mood regulation and nervous system balance. Theobromine provides a gentle lift without the stress response associated with caffeine.
Oats
A slow‑release carbohydrate that helps stabilise blood sugar, supporting steady energy and mood across the menstrual cycle. Oats also provide B‑vitamins needed for hormone signalling.
Almond butter
Adds plant‑based protein and healthy fats, helping this meal feel more sustaining and supportive. Almonds are rich in magnesium and vitamin E — nutrients involved in nervous system regulation and hormone balance.
Warmth & rhythm
Warm, consistent meals help signal safety to the nervous system, supporting digestion and reducing stress hormones that can disrupt cycle balance.
Chocolate cravings are not a lack of willpower —
they’re often a request for minerals, comfort, and steadiness.
Positive Anticipation
This porridge is an invitation to slow down. To notice the comfort in warm food, the familiarity of chocolate, and the steadiness of a meal that asks nothing from you. Before eating, take a moment to acknowledge what your body might be asking for today — rest, energy, grounding, or simply comfort — and allow this bowl to meet that need.
Prep/Cook: 15 minutes
This is the food that doesn’t rush you. It’s not about fixing hormones or eating perfectly — it’s about listening, responding, and allowing nourishment to be both practical and meaningful.
How we eat can be just as important as what we eat.
RECIPE (serves 1)
1 cup of rolled oats
2 cups milk of choice (dairy or unsweetened plant milk)
1 cup of water (optional, for consistency)
1½ tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1–2 tsp maple syrup (to taste)
Pinch of salt
To Serve:
1 tbsp almond butter, spooned on top
Optional: yoghurt, fruit, crushed nuts, cacao nibs
Method
Add the oats, cacao powder, chia seeds and salt to a small saucepan.
Pour in the milk (and water if using) and whisk gently to combine.
Cook over medium–low heat, stirring slowly, until thick and creamy (about 5–7 minutes).
Stir in the vanilla and maple syrup to taste.
Serve warm and spoon the almond butter over the top, allowing it to soften and melt slightly before eating.
