You might be surprised by how delicious and filling this Coconut Quinoa Cereal is, while being quite possibly the healthiest breakfast on the planet. Let’s look at the ingredients.
Quinoa is a versatile whole grain that can be made into a salad, a lunch casserole, or a dinner side.
Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.
Coconut milk is no slouch either. Coconut milk improves heart health, builds muscle, helps lose fat, prevents fatigue, stimulates digestion, relieves constipation, manages blood sugar, and prevents anemia, joint inflammation, and ulcers. (Source: Dr. Axe)
Don’t you feel healthier already? Now go and make this cereal.
Coconut Quinoa Cereal
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup quinoa
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Maple syrup or raw honey to taste
More coconut milk to taste
Heat the coconut milk until boiling. Add quinoa and cover. Lower heat to simmer until the coconut milk is absorbed but still slightly wet. Mix the shredded coconut in. Serve warm with maple syrup or raw honey and more coconut milk to taste. Makes 2 servings.
Experiment with some of your favorite toppings. Sliced apples with cinnamon, berries, bananas, nuts. Have a happy healthy start to your day!
If I were to get stuck on an island with only one kind of fruit-bearing tree, I would hope and pray it was banana. Believe it or not, bananas are considered berries. In tropical countries like the Philippines, where I grew up, there are different kinds of bananas, varying in size, color, firmness and the thickness of its peel.
Latundan bananas are short, fat, very sweet and have thin peel. Lacatan bananas are the typical kind that can be bought in Western countries, longer, starchier, and with thicker peel than Latundan. Saba, also known as plantain, is big, bland, and better eaten cooked than raw. There is also the Señorita, which is very very small and very very sweet.
Growing up in the Philippines, bananas were a staple in my home. We don’t have as much variety in the US, but I try to always have some in my home here in Maine. It’s an easy to grab and go snack, and a nutritious dessert after meals. I throw one in the blender for all kinds of smoothies. Cut up in half with some peanut butter spread in between is all kinds of awesome.
Although my favorite way to eat bananas is just by itself, my daughter recently requested it as an ice cream flavor. Here’s my recipe:
Banana Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl
Ingredients:
2 cups organic raw whole milk
1 cup organic raw heavy cream
4 large organic egg yolks (we had duck eggs, and they were fantastic!)
2/3 cup organic sugar
2 ripe organic bananas, chilled
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
Caramel Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 cup organic raw heavy cream
Directions:
Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally so a film doesn’t form on the surface, until tiny bubbles show up on the edges and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the milk/cream mixture reaches temperature, slowly pour a little bit at a time into the bowl of egg yolks while whisking continuously. Don’t hurry this. You don’t want to cook your eggs into some kind of scrambled thing. Slowly but surely, you want custard. Return the whole mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. It should reach a temperature of 185 degrees Fahrenheit without ever going to a boil. This will take a long time. Patience is the key. Pour the whole mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean glass bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir it often to let the heat out. Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate overnight. Chill the bananas in the refrigerator as well.
Blend bananas, 1 tablespoon sugar, lemon juice, and half the custard. Blend until smooth then whisk back into the rest of the custard. Pour the whole mixture into a prepared ice cream maker. Churn until thickened.
Melting #sugar A photo posted by Modern Wife (@modernwife) on
While churning, cook 1/2 cup sugar in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon once sugar begins to melt.
Once the sugar is completely melted and turned a reddish-brown color, lower heat to medium-low and add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously, so keep a distance from the pan immediately after pouring. Whisk and add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream.
Keep whisking and cooking until the sauce thickens but is still pourable, about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate. It will harden in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using as a topping.
When the ice cream has churned into a soft serve consistency and just before it overflows out of the ice cream maker, turn the machine off. Transfer a little bit at a time into an airtight container, alternating with spoonfuls of caramel. Freeze until firm.
I love bananas, but sometimes a bunch of them start turning brown in the fruit basket and they have to be rescued, stat! If I have only two bananas left, I make Banana Bread or this basic Banana Muffins recipe. If I have at least three bananas, this is what I do:
Ingredients for Muffins:
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup organic sugar
3 bananas
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the muffin pan or put muffin paper liners into muffin cups.
Cream softened butter and organic sugar together. Beat in the egg until smooth. Add mashed bananas and mix well together.
Add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix all together until smooth. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle crumb topping over muffins.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Look at how beautiful the center of the muffins looks. I love the brown slivers of banana in there.
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup organic sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottom and sides of a bread loaf pan with butter.
Beat butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Add egg, egg whites and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add mashed banana until incorporated.
Sift flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well with walnuts.
Pour batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool bread before slicing and serving with butter and jam.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups firmly packed organic sugar
2 eggs
2 very ripe bananas (peeled and mashed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cashews
Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat eggs, bananas and vanilla into the mixture. Add flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix together until it forms a smooth batter. Fold cashews into the batter. Pour into greased muffin pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Yields about 18 muffins.
Return the whole mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. It should reach a temperature of 185 degrees Fahrenheit without ever going to a boil. This will take a long time. Patience is the key. Pour the whole mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean glass bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir it often to let the heat out. Once completely cooled, cover and refrigerate overnight. Chill the bananas in the refrigerator as well.
. Churn until thickened.
