Saturday, September 3, 2011

cutting the crap: avoiding over-priced and nutritionally-hollow GF breakfasts

My biggest issue as a gluten-free vegan was figuring out the breakfast situation. The products marketed to the GF crowd are generally made of a combination of corn and sugar, potato and sugar, or rice and sugar. They also generally contain honey, which is a no-go for honey-abstaining vegans. Not only are cereals and bars made by big GF companies like Glutino nutritionally hollow, they are also more expensive than your average cereal or bar.

Although I found some refuge in EcoPlanet Instant Hot Cereal--which includes wholesome gluten-free grains like quinoa and amaranth--I was very annoyed to pay around six dollars a box for a few measly bags that did not even fill me up and couldn't get me through the week.

So over feeling mal-nourished or hungry after the most important meal of the day (while still paying a pretty penny) I decided to go macrobiotic and get back to basics for breakfast. Why was I paying six dollars for a GF oatmeal made partly of quinoa, when I could buy quinoa in bulk for 3.99 a pound (re-using the bag and forever losing the box) and make something way tastier, healthier, and cheaper myself? (Quinoa has eight grams of protein and five grams of fiber per one-cup serving).


And that's just what happened. My new breakfast obsession is quinoa in a bowl of almond milk, with a chunk of raw, crunchy almond butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger. Sometimes I add chopped bananas for an extra kick. I realize the picture I posted might look disgusting to some, but I promise it's so yummy. For those who want a sweet breakfast, I would recommend either adding fruit, using vanilla milk, or adding agave or sugar.

As a side note, someone recommended cooking quinoa in almond milk instead of water to make it taste more breakfast-y. I find no difference in the taste of quinoa based on whether I cook it in water or almond milk.

1 comment:

Monika Monsef said...

this looks like a recipe for garmee.