29 December 2009

After Christmas detox breakfast

Here's a quick way to deal with all that merriment you've been embibing in over that past week or two.

Quinoa porridge with almonds, Brazil nuts, dried apricots and dates

1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water
.5 cup of milk or soymilk (Any mix of liquid is fine as long as it equals up to 2 cups. I sometimes like more milk to make it creamier.)
half a handful of slivered almonds
5 or 6 of each of the following:
dried apricots chopped
dates chopped
Brazil nuts chopped

Rinse the quinoa a couple of times and sort out any tiny stones.
Bring quinoa and liquid to a boil and then add the other ingredients.
Turn down the heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
You can tell when quinoa is ready because the little tales start to show (Yes, this is still a vegetarian recipe!)

At the table you might want to add more milk like you would with regular porridge/ oatmeal and possible some honey, agave syrup, etc. but it tends to be quite sweet naturally from the dates.

Serves one or two depending on how hungry/hungover you are.

Enjoy!

11 comments:

Heather on her travels said...

I'm not mad on Quinoa, there's something a little gloopy about it, but I'm totally on the principle of healthy meusli type breakfasts, espacially after a heavy Christmas eating and drinking session - so wholesome!

Fly Girl said...

That sounds like a great breakfast, even if I didn't have to detox! Can you substitute the quinoa for another grain?

Niamh Griffin said...

Happy New Year!
Thanks for the recipe; I never know quite what to do with quinoa!

Shiela said...

So does this get the toxins out of your system some how? Is it the type of grain or the combination of ingredients? :)

shantiwallah said...

Heather- You really have to rinse it 3, 4 or even 5 times before cooking it because it's got something called "saponin" in it that makes it a bit soapy. It's also a little bit pop-y or crunchy so I can imagine that it's a acquired tast to some anyway. Try the purple/red quinoa sometime. Maybe that would be better?? Still, plenty of other awesome grains in the world!

Fly Girl- Sure! What can you get where you are? Millet is good and you could probably even use brown rice. It would be like a fruity rice pudding ...for breakfast! If you used couscous, though, you'd probably be better off preparing the couscous separately and then adding to the lightly cooked fruit and nuts since it cook really quickly and instantly with a bit of boiling water.

Niamh-It's grain of Mystery! WoooOOOOooooo! I also just use it like rice sometimes. Really nice cooked in a bit of stack instead of plain water.

Shiela- It's on of the ancient wonder grains and only grows in a high altitude so it's got to be good, right? Seriously, I think it's just good to eat more grains and veggies and chocolate (oops!) to balance out all the other things we do to ourselves. Here's a link to some hippy dippy facts and some recipes I've found.http://chetday.com/quinoa.html

Thank you all for reading!

Ann said...

This sounds like just what I need after the Christmas indulgence! Thanks for the recipe. Happy New Year!

shantiwallah said...

Thanks Ann. I hope it hits the spot for you. Happy New Year to you too!

Cheryl Kohan said...

Hi! This recipe looks delicious and not just for after Christmas indulgence. Comfort food, I think, on any cold morning.

(I followed you hear from Town & Country Gardens which is one of my favorites.)

shantiwallah said...

Cold weather comfort food indeed, Cheryl! T & C Gardens is one of my faves, too:-) Thanks for visiting!

Lauren Quinn said...

Amazing! I never thought of quinoa porridge.

shantiwallah said...

Lauren, you should definitely try it!