My Spiced Quinoa Porridge Breakfast

This creamy, rich, and sweet bowl of quinoa porridge has become my staple breakfast since the weather turned colder several weeks ago.   It  is rich in fiber and complete protein!  I’ve written about quinoa before here – all its benefits and attributes (go check it out). It is SO hearty, nourishing, filling and gluten-free to boot.  We love it!  I have been putting baked apples in it with spices such as cinnamon and clove and it has been ROCKING my world!  Eating cooked apples and raisins seasoned with cinnamon or cardamom helps rekindle your agni (digestive fire) and promotes regular elimination according to Ayurveda principles.   Sometimes, instead of the apples, I will put some banana slices in while the quinoa is absorbing all the water.  The banana softens, gets creamy and the sweetness intensifies.  Quinoa recipes don’t have to be savory all the time.  They can be sweet too!  So, let’s get to that recipe!

Baked Apples

This makes a large batch to last 3 – 5 days (depending on usage).

• 7 organic apples (cored and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks)
• coconut oil – 1 TB. or more to preference
• cinnamon powder – 1 tsp. or more to taste

Preheat oven to 350 – 375 degrees.  Combine apple chunks along with coconut oil and cinnamon in an oven proof dish (I used a glass Pyrex dish) and place in oven for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, pull dish out and stir apples around (making sure they are well coated with oil and cinnamon).  Place back into the oven for another 15 minutes.  When the apples come out of oven, set to the side and let cool completely before storing.   They are now ready for adding to your porridge at any time.

Spiced Quinoa Porridge

Serves 2 to 4 people (depending on how hungry you are)

• 1 cup quinoa (soaked several hours and rinsed well)
• 1  3/4 cup water or almond milk
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. clove pwdr. or less (to taste)
• sweetener of choice (maple syrup, yacon syrup) – I used NuNaturals Stevia
• baked apples (see above for recipe) or banana slices
• 1 TB. chia seeds (optional)
• small handful of goji berries (optional)
• 1 TB. coconut oil or Ghee

Rinse quinoa using a sieve until the rinse water runs clear. Bring the water to boil and add the quinoa and sea salt. Cover pan with lid.  Reduce heat to a simmer. After about 5 minutes, go ahead and add the apples, chia seeds, sweetener of choice, goji berries, cinnamon, clove and put lid back on. After 5 minutes, turn off heat and fluff the quinoa mix until all liquid has absorbed (about 10 minutes) and it is light and fluffy.

Top with your favorite toppings if you so desire.  I like to use local bee pollen, ghee and homemade granola.  Raw cacao nibs are fabulous with the banana slice porridge!  Use hemps seeds, chopped dates, dried fruit of choice, coconut flakes, etc.  It’s YOUR porridge, so put your favorites on!  Enjoy!!

Now, I want to explain why I am incorporating ghee into my diet.  Recently, I have been eating according to Ayurveda principles and LOVING it (so is my body!)  I was having some issues that weren’t being resolved with my normal way of eating.  OK, I am going to be frank and honest with you all – as I normally am.  I was having issues of constipation, always cold, a bit lethargic, stiff achy joints, digestive issues, dry skin, and restless sleep.  So, I intuitively listened to my body and realized something was missing.  Ayurveda kept “popping up” everywhere I looked.  So, I decided to listen and pay attention to the signs that were “staring me in the face” and looked into it. 

Ayurveda is the traditional medicine of India, which originated there over 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda emphasizes re-establishing balance in the body through diet, lifestyle, exercise, and body cleansing, and on the health of the mind, body, and spirit.  In the last decade, Ayurveda has been growing in popularity in North America, partly due to the work of Deepak Chopra, M.D., a physician who combines western medicine with Ayurveda.  An imbalanced dosha is believed to interrupt the natural flow of prana, or vital energy. The disrupted energy flow is then thought to impair digestion and allow the build up of body waste, or ama, which further impairs energy and digestion.

I took the dosha test and I found out which one I was (VATA) and it TOTALLY clicked with me and what I was experiencing.  I researched GHEE intensely before I decided to incorporate it into my diet.  Ghee is essentially clarified butter, which means it has had the milk solids and water removed.According to traditional Ayurvedic medicine and practitioners like Dr. Vasant Lad, director of the Ayurvedic Institute, ghee helps with digestion, prevents inflammation, promotes intelligence and memory and lubricates the body’s connective tissues, promoting flexibility. Modern Western medicine has found that ghee resists free radical damage, and that it contains phenolic antioxidants that are known help strengthen the immune system. Ghee is also lactose-free and contains no salt.

Ghee has a purifying and nourishing effect on the cellular level of the skin.   I will go MORE into this topic real soon. I am now eating seasonally.   Ghee has done WONDERS for me.    I just wanted to explain to you why I am doing this and you will be seeing it more in my recipes (I still use coconut oil) as an option.   You can read more about ghee here.

 I hope you enjoy the spiced quinoa porridge recipe and tomorrow I will be posting the video footage from my demo at Whole Foods last Saturday. 

Toppings included hemp seeds, local bee pollen and candied pumpkin seeds. AMAZING! Keeps me FULL and satisfied for hours.

Have a great day!   ♥

♥ For more healthy living and organic gardening tips, quick recipes, what I’m eating and inspirational quotes, LOVE me on Facebook and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Lots of fun stuff!