Quinoa. Everybody is talking about quinoa. Or more, people are trying to talk about quinoa, but nobody can be quite sure how to pronounce quinoa. (Hint: it is keen-oh-ah). This superfood is taking the market by storm, and for good reason! Disguised as a whole grain, quinoa is also a complete protein, providing all 9 essential amino acids. Now that is something to buzz about!

Obviously, I try to incorporate this superfood into my diet as much as possible, but the trouble is, it’s a pretty boring staple item. It’s like brown rice. How many things can you do to jazz up brown rice?! It gets a little repetitive after a while. Secondly, it is physically impossible to make a single serving of quinoa. I double dog dare you to try it. Even using as little as 1/2 cup (uncooked), will still result in over 1 full cup of cooked quinoa. So as I was staring at my quinoa leftovers tonight, which were plentiful, and I was trying to figure out what to do with them, it dawned on me. Breakfast quinoa!

Breakfast quinoa bowls are a great replacement to my typical oatmeal breakfast because it provides whole grains AND protein. You can pretty much jazz up your quinoa in any way you want, just like oats. Huge score! To get the innovation flowing, here’s the way I prepared mine this morning…

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (1/2 cup uncooked)

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 apple, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare the quinoa as directed on the package. Mix in desired ingredients. Possibly add some skim milk to the mix, or top with some plain nonfat greek yogurt if you’re feeling wild. Eat the breakfast. Sip the coffee. Do the things.

Pro tip #864: I highly advise NOT using nut butters in your breakfast quinoa. I figured it would work just like it does for oats. Spoiler alert, it does not. (Imagine mixing peanut butter with brown rice, and that’s kinda how it went). I had a huge mess on my hands and I was not discreet trying to eat breakfast quietly in the middle of a meeting. People noticed. Eyes were rolled. Pencils were tapped. New Kid was embarrassed.