Breakfast Quinoa

The holidays were so full of sugar for me that I feel like I need a serious resolution. I am addicted to sugar these days. If it's sweet, I will get it out of my way by promptly devouring it. I guess my willpower to resist sweets went out the window when I had my daughter...curious, but seemingly true.

Anyway, since my sugar-laden holiday has officially come to an end, I am trying to get back to my regular eating habits. It's never felt this hard. But if you know me then you know I love a good challenge. I've had battles with breakfast over the years, and really I thought that I just wasn't a "fan" of breakfast at all. Until I became pregnant. It changed everything.

Now, I do breakfast daily. Shocking, but true.

Because I live with anxiety, I try to do protein in the morning because I've read that it helps. Does it actually help? I am asked this a lot...I really don't have a great answer because I do so many things in combination with one another. Protein in the morning, a combo of vitamins (prenatal, DHA and now vitamin D), exercise, and meditation (uh, well, I try to do the meditation...I've fallen off the wagon a little these days.) My point is it can't hurt.

Since I don't do a lot of dairy, I generally have an egg in the morning. Which is great, but it's always nice to mix it up. Oatmeal, for me, is good, but it's not something that tends to stick with me the way I would like. When I came across breakfast quinoa, well, I had to give it a try. I like it because it's filling, and I can make it easily and it's chocked full of PROTEIN!

Even you aren't quinoa's number one fan, you should give this a try. I'm not ashamed to admit that I am using up my quinoa in my pantry and literally I have no clue how old it is. So, you know, it's a good recipe to use up your old quinoa too!

Billie's Breakfast Quinoa 

Time: 15 minutes-ish | Serves: 2 | Difficulty: Easy 

You Will Need: 

1 cup of almond milk (plus more for serving) 

1/2 cup quinoa 

1 large handful of blueberries (I use frozen) 

a few dashes of cinnamon 

a lil bit of vanilla extract 

raw honey or sugar for sprinkling (optional) 

1 banana, sliced (optional) 

Method: 

In a small saucepan, bring the milk, cinnamon and vanilla extract to a boil. Add the quinoa and blueberries, cover and reduce heat to low, allowing it to simmer. Cook about 15 minutes, or until most of the milk is absorbed. Remove from heat.

To serve, divide the quinoa into two bowls. Sprinkle with sugar or honey, and top with bananas and pour over more almond milk (to make like a porridge).

Since my husband doesn't want to share this delicious dish with me, I make one recipe and then eat it over two days.