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Is Porridge Fattening?

Porridge is made using grains, or cereals, such as oats, barley, rice, maize or even legumes. The most popular form of porridge, which is prevalent in America, is the one made from oats – rolled, crushed or steel cut. The preparation can vary from being a simple gruel made by boiling oats in plain water with some salt for seasoning or something really elaborate like oats cooked with milk and cream, topped with butter, honey or sugar with a generous splattering of cut fruits. Whether porridge is fattening or not would completely depend on the preparation involved. Plain porridge is considered to be very healthy and is not fattening if you restrict yourself to a single helping of a bowl.

Calories in Porridge

Porridge is a good source of carbohydrates since it’s made from grains rich in starchy content. Oats make for a healthy diet because of their low glycemic index which causes the body to release the sugars, derived from the meal, very slowly, avoiding a spike in blood sugar and regulating the metabolism of the body.

If you look at the calorie content in a porridge made from oats – 100 gms of porridge would release close to 300 calories of energy in the body, significantly in the form of Carbs. It makes for an ideal breakfast because it provides for healthy nutrition. The fat content in a plain porridge is usually 10% and a big advantage is that the oats are rich in insoluble fiber which ensures that you feel full for a long time after you’ve eaten the porridge so you don’t splurge on snacks in between meals. So porridge indirectly helps you lose weight by making you feel full for long.

How to Make Healthy Porridge that is Not Fattening

The healthiest preparation of porridge usually involves cooking whole grains in plain water, while adding a little salt for taste. Rolled oats, or even crushed ones, are good for this purpose. It’s best to avoid eating a lot of rice porridge because rice is more calorie intensive than oats, and refined rice is not as healthy as whole grain oats. To make a healthy porridge, always stick to the bare minimal additives – milk, butter, sugar, maple syrup and other sweetening agents may make the porridge tastier but they will also increase the calories per serving.

If you don’t like the taste of plain porridge, you can try eating it will a small portion of stir fried vegetables or even an omelet. In the Eastern countries people are known to eat their porridge with some boiled fish in sauce, in India people eat their rice porridge with some meat or vegetable curry. Just make sure the side dish is wholesome and preferably one that provides you with some protein content.

A sweet porridge is quite popular as a dessert or even a breakfast food. Usually sweet porridge is made from rice or oats cooked in milk with sugar or honey to provide the sweetening. A sweet porridge is definitely fattening due to the high calorific value of milk and sugar, and hence should be eaten in moderate amount.