Get out of the breakfast rut with quinoa and get your essential nutrients of iron and zinc as well as a whopping 8 grams of protein per cup!
Quinoa is the ancient grain that not only tastes good but is good for you! Often times, we associate quinoa as being a substitute for rice in lunch or dinner preparations, but have you ever thought about adding it to your breakfast? If you’re in a breakfast rut, consider quinoa the next time you’re meal prepping.
Here are 4 simple and unique ways to eat quinoa for breakfast that you may not have thought of before!
Add Pre-cooked Quinoa to Your Pancakes
Yup, you read it right; just add the pre-cooked quinoa right into the batter! The texture is soft enough that it can go unnoticed while still adding a subtle nutty flavor! You can control how much or how little you want to add, but a good place to start would be about 1 cup of cooked quinoa for every 2 cups of batter. The quinoa adds bulk to the pancakes as well so you can stretch the recipe making it perfect for meal prep. You might want to explore with pancake flavors to see what you like the best paired with the quinoa. Try something to mimic the nuttiness such as coconut, almond, or chocolate chip, or go fruity with blueberries!
Make Quinoa Overnight Oats
Once again, you’ll want to pre-cook your quinoa for this yummy breakfast treat. Simply add your cooked quinoa into your overnight oats as if it was an ingredient that is part of the recipe and wait until the morning to enjoy! The quinoa will keep you fuller longer with the addition of the protein, and will also add a pleasant nutty flavor and texture that will make the oats irresistible! The best part is that overnight oats lend itself to be perfect in any flavor. Add maple syrup and brown sugar for a sweet kick, layer with bananas and peanut butter, or just top with some fruit before heading out of the door. Seriously, make this in bulk as it is also great for a mid-afternoon snack!
Put Quinoa in Your Granola
If you love making homemade granola, this one is for you. There are two ways that you can go about adding quinoa to your granola. The first is to mix it raw into the ingredients before baking, and then bake the recipe as you normally would. The second way is to ‘pop’ the quinoa in a non-stick pan over the stove for 5–7 minutes until you actually hear it popping and get a faint smell of popcorn. Then add it to your granola and bake as normal. You can’t go wrong either way you choose!
Assemble a Quinoa Parfait
For a quick and easy breakfast, simply layer cooked and cooled quinoa with your choice of non-dairy yogurt, fruit, and toppings! The possibilities are endless with this option as you can create a different parfait for every day of the week. How about peach mango yogurt with coconut and hemp seeds? Or maybe you’re more of a vanilla yogurt with almonds and chocolate kind of person? As long as you have cooked quinoa in your fridge, you can assemble it any way you please. Add a splash of Vitamin Mineral Rush to add some extra vitamins and minerals without affecting the flavor at all!
Sometimes eating breakfast can be hard during the week especially if you’re on the go. The good news is that all the ideas above can be made ahead, so you’re never without a healthy breakfast!
