I'm not sure why this is true, but for some reason I am more tempted to reach for the most sinful foods during breakfast than at any other meal. I am perfectly happy choosing green salad over pasta and lean protein and veggies over fried chicken and mashed potatoes. But breakfast... I really just very much want all of the carbs. Like every single one. The crusty on the outside, tender on the inside steaming hot waffles with maple syrup (and if they have some chocolate chips in 'em, that won't hurt my feelings at all). The sweet, fragrant blueberry muffins, maybe with a little lemon or vanilla glaze drizzled on top. The biscuits. Light and flaky with plenty of butter and a generous layer of seedless blackberry or beautifully fresh strawberry jam. Bagels with nutella. Please!!! I mean, for real, though.
Sorry.
That was kinda hateful. I'll stop.
Yeah, let's just say it's pretty super important that I come up with some healthier options for breakfast before I gain 627 pounds just thinking about all those carbs.
Enter quinoa. I love it so much for so many reasons. I eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. And it makes me happy. See if it works for you too.
Ingredients:
2 Fuji or Gala apples (Yeah, I know apples have carbs, but at least they're complex carbs, and we're pairing them with a super food, so it'll be fine. I promise. :-D)
Lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon + 2 pinches coconut sugar, divided
2 dashes cinnamon
1/3 cup cooked quinoa (even better if you cook it with a cinnamon stick)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon stevia
splash pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prep apples by cutting off top and removing core, creating apple "cup." Chop apple remnants and set aside.
3. Brush inside of apple cups with lemon juice. Melt butter, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, and 1 dash cinnamon together. Brush generously over inside and outside of apple cups.
4. Place apple cups in small baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.
5. While apples finish baking, warm quinoa in non-stick skillet with chopped up apple remnants, one generous pinch coconut sugar, and a dash of cinnamon.
6. Beat cream with stevia, vanilla and last dash of cinnamon until soft peaks form.
7. When apples come out of the oven, pour pan juices into a small sauce pan at high heat to reduce and thicken. Fill apples with quinoa mixture, top with cinnamon-vanilla cream, and drizzle with thickened apple juice-coconut sugar syrup.
Warm, hearty, sweet, nutty, cinnamony deliciousness. I'm pretty sure these taste exactly like how it feels to wrap your soul in a blanket fresh out of the dryer. :-D