The Ultimate Comfort Food: Flax Meal Porridge (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

It's things like this recipe that make me want to get up early in the morning. I'm usually the kind of person who hits snooze about 5 times before getting up. But whenever there's a box of flax in my fridge and frozen berries in my freezer, I find myself getting too excited for breakfast to hit snooze more than twice. Oh, how I love flax. I love its many different textures, I love how it keeps me full for hours, and I love how a $1.99 box of it can last me an entire month. Most mornings I have flax either as minute-mug cake with ricotta, or as porridge with a side of bacon and eggs. I'll even mix flax into my savory foods and have it for lunch and dinner. One day I plan to erect a monument to flax, but I'm still working on the funding for that project.

This recipe comes to at most 6 grams of carbs per serving. (You could cut all the optional ingredients I added, and it would bring the carb count down. I just wanted to show how versatile the recipe is.)

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2 tbsp milled flax seed
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup almond milk (depends on how thick you want it)
• 1 tbsp butter 
• 1-2 tsp sweetener (again, depends on how sweet you want it)
• 1/4 c ricotta cheese (optional)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 c frozen raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries (optional)
• 1/2 tbsp crushed almonds (optional)

1. Turn the stove on to medium heat. In a small pan, combine the flax and almond milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer and wait for it to thicken, stirring constantly 
2. Once it thickens, add in the butter, sweetener, ricotta, and cinnamon. Stir to melt all the ingredients together and once the porridge has reached desired creaminess, turn off the heat and add in your frozen berries. Pour the porridge into a serving bowl and top with crushed almonds to give it a bit of a crunch. 

Nutritional Info (for 1 serving)

Calories: 333 calories

Total fat: 28 grams

Total carbs: 13 grams

Dietary fiber: 7 grams

Net carbs (for 1 serving): 6 grams

Protein: 12 grams