Spiced Coconut Quinoa Porridge with Asian Pear & Raspberries
Serves 4
If you’re like me, you are always looking for new interesting, tasty, and nutritious breakfasts. To get my day off on the right foot, I like to vary what I eat in the morning. It could be a big bowl of homemade granola with almond milk, a freshly made smoothie, steel cut oats, or Greek yogurt with dried fruit and nuts. One favorite of mine is a plate of leftover roasted vegetables with a poached or fried egg on top with sliced avocado.
This morning, I’m trying quinoa porridge made with coconut milk that is spiced with a little nutmeg and turmeric and sweetened by local honey. For extra flavor, texture, and crunch, it is served with Asian pear, and fresh raspberries, and topped with pistachio nuts and toasted coconut. Because quinoa has it all, this breakfast is packed with nutrition, is high in protein, and is full of good carbs and good fats. Top it with a freshly made compote of fruits, and you can’t get a better start to your day.
Quinoa
According to the Whole Grains Council, quinoa is a gluten-free, whole-grain carbohydrate, and a whole protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids. The quinoa we all know and love is actually a seed from the Chenopodium quinoa plant. But, hold your horses, it is not really a grain. Whole grains like oats and barley, are defined as seeds extracted from grasses not plants.
But the way we prepare and eat quinoa resembles a whole grain. Because of this, the nutrition world considers it a whole grain. If you want to get technical, quinoa is actually quantified as a “pseudo-cereal,” a term used to describe foods that are prepared and eaten as a whole grain but are botanical outliers from grasses.
According to the nutrition facts stated by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), one cup of cooked quinoa has:
• 222 calories
• 39 grams (g) of carbs
• 8g of protein
• 6g of fat
• 5g of fiber
• 1g of sugar
The Whole Grains Council recognizes 120 different varieties of quinoa. Quinoa comes in a wide variety of colors. Most commonly found in American grocers are white (also considered ivory or yellow quinoa), red, and black. Interestingly enough, all three of these quinoa types cook and taste differently.
While white quinoa has a fluffy, cooked texture, red and black quinoa are known to keep more of their shape and color after cooking. Red quinoa also has a heartier taste and chewier texture. Black quinoa tastes somewhat crunchy and slightly sweeter than either red or white.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups mixed quinoa, washed and drained
1 14oz can of coconut cream
2 tablespoons of local honey or maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons chia seeds
½ teaspoon ground star anise (optional)
1 Asian pear, cored and cut into cubes
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon chopped pistachio nuts
How to make:
Take a medium size saucepan, add the quinoa, coconut cream, half of the honey, the ground nutmeg or cardamom, and ground turmeric. Place on the stove over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Add the chia seeds to the quinoa porridge and cook for 5 more minutes.
In a separate small saucepan, heat the remaining honey. Add the ground star anise and the chopped pear. Allow to soften for 3 to 4 minutes before adding the raspberries, cook until heated through about 1 more minute.
Serve the quinoa porridge hot topped with the warm fruit compote, desiccated coconut, and the chopped pistachio nuts.