What Do You Eat for Breakfast...

Quinoa, Glorious Quinoa

A Seed Packed with Protein!

After the "How do you get your protein?" question, the next one is always about breakfast.  It's not as though I am substituting an Egg McMuffin here, but I have come to realize that for many people, that it is their way of eating breakfast, and on the run.  If I told a Mickey Dee devotee that I had quinoa today, they might freak out.

With summer here, and fresh fruit so bountiful, breakfast is the most fun meal of the day.  I have a very busy waffle iron, that just today housed the batter of an oatmeal/banana and quinoa waffle.  And it was SO good.  Some freshly sliced strawberries...and, it was a perfect breakfast.  It took me about three minutes to prepare, was very filling, and ever so delicious.

As I have evolved on this vegan voyage, the more I am away from my former point of entry, the healthier and more inventive I become with all kinds of recipes.  Recently, I was at a breakfast buffet where a friend said, "It is super healthy, you will love it!!"  But, the truth was, the only thing I could eat was fresh fruit, and the kale garnish on the fruit salads.  The breads were "faux whole wheat," and the nut butters all had sugar in them.

Back to the quinoa.  The first time I ever saw it for breakfast was at my first Engine 2 Immersion in Austin in 2010.  I remember thinking to myself, "They may as well have put out brown rice."  But quinoa, aside from all the amino acids that it packs, can go either way...as a breakfast or a side dish.  Embrace your inner quinoa for a nutritious breakfast, snack, salad builder, whatever.  Make it in bulk, and pack it in individual servings. 

Quinoa is considered to be a complete protein. Unlike other plant-based foods, it contains the amino acid lysine. One cup of cooked quinoa contains 8 gm of protein. This is equal to the protein found in one cup of milk. Other grains, such as pasta and rice contain an average of 3 gm of protein per serving, making quinoa a great choice for people trying to incorporate more plant-based protein in their diet.  Take that, naysayers!  Or protein askers!


Here's a nice, simple, quick and easy qunioa recipe from Martha Stewart.  She uses brown sugar, I just omit the sugar.  If you need a sweet bang to this, try date sugar.  But, really, the blueberries do it all.

From Martha and me...

http://www.marthastewart.com/314453/breakfast-quinoa

So, try the quinoa for breakfast.  Lunch.  And Dinner.

Happy Tuesday!