lighter breakfasts

Summer is abundant with fresh produce, and these recipes make the most of the season as well as being nutritious and filling to help you start the day the right

- SARA BUENFELD

Quinoa, peach & ginger bircher

Make these breakfast pots the night before to get ahead. They’re great for a post-exercise meal, and the recipe feeds six. If you’re catering for fewer people, the base mixture keeps for three days. Soaked oats and grains are easier to digest, so you can get on with the day without feeling weighed down.

SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins plus overnight chilling COOK 18 mins EASY V

200g quinoa

200g porridge oats

4 tsp finely grated ginger

225ml milk, plus a little extra, if needed

1 tbsp vanilla extract

6 x 120ml pots bio yogurt

6 ripe peaches or nectarines

1 Tip the quinoa into a saucepan with plenty of cold water, bring to the boil, and continue cooking on high heat for 18 mins, or until the grains are tender. Cool under cold running water, then drains well. Meanwhile, tip the oats into a large bowl with the ginger. Pour over 400ml boiling water and stir well (the mixture will become very thick, but this takes away the starchy taste that Birchers made with cold water can have). Stir in the milk, vanilla, and half the yogurt, then fold in the cooled quinoa. Cover and chill overnight. Will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days.

2 When you’re ready to serve, stir in a little more milk until the bircher is the desired consistency. Stone and chop 1 peach or nectarine for each serving. Stir half the remaining yogurt into the bircher, along with half the chopped fruit. Top with the remaining yogurt and fruit.

GOOD TO KNOW healthy • low fat • calcium • folate • fiber • vit c • 1 of 5-a-day