Fish FoodSweet, yummy, and healthy. Why not! It's not your standard hot oatmeal cereal, and it shouldn't be. Just the right sweetness, slightly chocolaty, and banana-nutty (if that's a word).
It's easy to make- and for us hurried bethelites - easy enough to make a big batch and have more for another morning.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
In a medium size pot, pour 2.5 cups of the milk . (I like to use almond or soy, or both, to give it a bit more sweetness, and it makes me feel a bit healthier 😉
Thrown in the vanilla and cinnamon with the milk. Mix. Set the burner on High.
When the milk reaches a boil, pour in the quinoa. (You can wash it before hand if you want, but I usually don't. I've tried washed/unwashed without seeing much difference, and both are safe.)
With the milk still boiling, stir the quinoa with a big kitchen spoon for 30 seconds to 1 min. After that, lower the heat all the way down, to the lowest setting. Cover the pot. Leave for about 10 minutes.
As you wait for that to cook, peel the 4 bananas. Puree them. You can either do this with a mixer or by hand.
By hand: break 1 banana into pieces, throw into bowl, use a fork to mash it into a puree. Repeat 3 more times. (I do it by hand, takes like 1 or 2 minutes per banana. Need to upgrade though 🙁 )
After about 10 minutes, check the quinoa to make sure that it has enough liquid. Throw in the chocolate powder. Mix.
You'll see it get thicker, so probably add a bit more milk to make sure the quinoa has enough liquid to cook for the remaining time. Let it keep cooking.
After another 5 minutes, check the quinoa, it should be done.
(How to tell it's done: taste it - the quinoa should be soft, the curly tail coming out of each grain. Not hard, not crunchy.)
If still not done, add a bit more milk, stir well, and leave for 3-4 mins more. When it's cooked, turn off heat.
Add the banana puree into the hot quinoa. (This will give it sweetness it needs. If you tasted it before adding the bananas, it really is not sweet. But the bananas should really sweeten it up.) Mix well. Add the dried cranberries and raisins. Mix well.
You might need to add the remaining milk, depending on how soupy you like your cereal. Stir.
Serve. Sprinkle almonds on top (to give it that nutty crunchiness), blueberries. And if you need an extra boost for a later workout - sprinkle chia seeds on top. If it's too thick, you can always add more milk to your liking.
Side notes:
Almost everything can be found in the pantry, except for the almond/soy milk, blueberries, chia seed - those can be found in the commissary.
This should make a big batch. It usually lasts me for 5 mornings, eating 1.5 cups each morning. (But i eat a lot, and just use it as my morning cereal, and while making eggs too.)
Anyhow, if you need to store it for later, just place it in a big bowl, cover it with plastic wrap. Next morning you can just heat it up, or eat it cold too. It might have thickened overnight, so you can always pour a bit more almond or soy milk on it.
Substitute anything if needed - just remember: keep it healthy, but never boring! 😉