• 8 strips of bacon
  • 1 cup hulled millet
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 2 teaspoons ginger, minced (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 medium apple, diced with skin
  • ¼ cup honey

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan and blot with a paper towel to remove excess fat. Once cooled, crumble bacon strips and set aside.

2. Rinse and drain millet.

3. Combine millet, water, sweet potato, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar in a deep pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until water is absorbed (about 1 hour).

4. Once millet is cooked, remove pot from heat and add apple, honey and bacon crumbles.

5. Slow cooker method: Reduce water by 1 cup and cook on high for 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Tips:

Congee is a porridge made with rice or millet and is popular in many Asian countries. This hearty, whole grain breakfast is a perfect make ahead meal. Make a batch at the beginning of the week, portion into 8 single serving microwave safe containers and store in the refrigerator. Now all you need to do each morning is pop it in the microwave for 1 minute (or until hot) and enjoy a healthy breakfast every day this week! If the congee is too thick once reheated, add a splash of nonfat milk.