My quinoa breakfast

That used to be waffles or pancakes or french toast. Well, maybe I do still like those things! But, both my taste buds and my stomach love something healthier, hot quinoa cereal. Quinoa is a wonderful grain-like seed. It is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids, and it is a good source of fibre, magnesium, and iron.

Cooking quinoa is very simple. Soak 1 cup of quinoa in water for 15 minutes (or for 5 minutes in hot water if you want to speed things up). Rinse the quinoa with water and drain it using a fine mesh strainer. Put the strained quinoa in a pot with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring water to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer and cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to sit with cover on for another 5 minutes. I usually double with recipe and freeze extra for future easy use.

For the breakfast quinoa:

• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• 1 cup of almond milk (you could choose rice milk or soy milk or cow’s milk as you wish)
• handful of pumpkin seeds
• small handful of dried cranberries or goji berries other dried fruit
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• honey or maple syrup if you wish

Cook on stove on low to medium heat until liquid is mostly absorbed, stirring often. Serves 2. Sometimes I’ll make more than I need and refrigerate or freeze the extras for a faster breakfast when I need.