When I was growing up, one of my favorite breakfast foods was Cream of Wheat. Everything about it was comforting to me. It was different than oatmeal, smoother, silkier, and so easy to eat one or two bowls at a time.
My mom would make it with a little sugar, milk, and cinnamon and I was in heaven.
However, once I got older, I realized that my tasty bowl of goodness was probably not the healthiest thing I should be eating each morning.
For one, it is made from farina which is refined wheat semolina. It is different than the very similar breakfast food brand named Farina because it is ground into a finer powder. Cream of wheat is usually enriched which sounds all fancy but only means nutrients lost during processing are added back in by the manufacturer.
Let’s take this back a minute by clarifying the whole “enriched” thing. We have become accustomed to seeing words like enriched and fortified without really understanding that they mean. As mentioned above, enriching foods is one option manufacturers often opt for. Fortifying foods is when manufacturers add nutrients to foods in which they do not normally belong. Let’s say adding extra calcium to orange juice, vitamin b-12 to cereals, or fiber to bread. It sounds great, right?!
Well, one day a light bulb went off in my head. How about I stop eating or looking for foods that play into these enriched and fortified shenanigans and start eating foods that are whole and naturally contain the nutrients that I need.
In addition, eating this way allows for nutrient synergy. This means by trying to eat foods in their whole food forms enables all of the nutrients to do their jobs altogether as they are meant to as opposed to being isolated.
With all of this said, I decided to get experimental with different grains to come up with a healthier version of my childhood favorite. And by happenstance, I had a huge batch of cooked quinoa in my fridge. And here we are…
What’s So Special About Quinoa?
Quinoa is a grain that’s not actually a grain but treated as one because of the way we cook it. But the seed/grain that we eat is actually a relative of the beet. Who knew?!
Quinoa is awesome because it naturally has a ton of nutrients and vitamins PLUS protein!! As someone that just moved to a plant based/vegan lifestyle, finding plant based sources of protein is key. This kinda-grain is unique being that it has all 9 amino acids essential for human nutrition. It is also rich with fiber. Diets high in fiber have been linked to lower heart disease and lower risks of type 2 diabetes. Click HERE to read more on the benefits of fiber from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Though farina is tasty, it can’t claim these nutritional benefits.
So, I decided to get a little creative with some quinoa in my pantry. And voila….a new breakfast food to add to my routine.
I shared it on my Instagram account a couple of days ago so you can check it out HERE or just follow along below.
Let’s get started…
Cream of Quinoa aka Quinoa Porridge Recipe
To be 100% honest, I try to make a huge batch of quinoa on Monday and use it through the rest of the week. So this recipe can actually be made quickly each morning by doing the same, cook one big batch earlier in the week and throw the following ingredients in a blender in the morning.
For this recipe you will need:
1 cup of quinoa (I used white here is a similar brand)
2 cups of water
3 cups of milk
Blender or Food Processor
Sweetener and spices of choice (I use cinnamon, vanilla extract, and cane sugar)
This recipe should yield 3 servings. You can prepare the quinoa and stop at that point by just storing the remainder in a container. Each morning add one cup of quinoa to the milk as mentioned below, blend, and then warm either in the microwave or for a couple of minutes in a pan on the stove.
- Prepare quinoa according to the package or bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Add the 1 cup of quinoa to the boiling water and slightly lower the heat.
- Stir the quinoa after a couple of minutes. It should be cooked in less than 10 minutes or so.
- It is done when you see a faint white ring around each grain.
- Turn off the heat and place the quinoa in a storage bowl.
- Add 1/3 of the quinoa into a blender and/or food processor with one cup of milk.
- Add spices and sweetener to taste.
- Blend for about 45 seconds or until semi-smooth.
- It should be warm enough to eat then or add back into the pan and warm up for a minute or so on medium heat.
- It is done and ready to eat!
If this is prepared as mentioned above, it is a tasty gluten-free, vegan breakfast that can be eaten on the go. It is one of the meals I started eating when I decided to go plant based and I am still enjoying it. Let me know if you decide to give it a try.
Be sure to check my journey out on instagram at @itsmeladyg to see what I eat on a daily basis.
FTC DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small finder’s fee on the sale. This does not increase your price in any way shape or form. Using these links help support the continuation of this website. All opinions are my own. Thank you in advance.
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