Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast & How I start my Alkaline day

by Julie on August 12, 2010

The smell in the kitchen when I prepare this quinoa breakfast is so appetizing–who doesn’t love the flavour of cinnamon in the morning?  There’s something comforting about this spice that makes you feel cozy and well taken care of, don’t you think?  That’s just how I’ve been feeling as we enjoy our summer mornings all settled in at out lake house.  We wake up to the placid water or sometimes glimmering rippled water and enjoy our breakfast out on the deck admiring our vista over the lake.  I love my spelt porridge recipe but this quinoa is a complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids, especially lysine.  Quinoa is also high in potassium, iron, calcium, and copper.  Because quinoa is so easily digested it is ideal for optimal absorption of all these nutrients.  It’s a tremendous way to start your day.  For more on the benefits or quinoa look here.  Add some blueberries for antioxidants & vitamin C, some seeds & nuts for added protein and all-important omega-3 fatty acids and you have one really healthy breakfast.  It cooks up in about 15 minutes but it keeps well so if you have left overs or want to double it all you need to do is warm it up with a little extra almond milk and in 2 minutes you have breakfast.

I always end up posting recipes that I just can’t get enough of and I hope that it’s not just me that loves these recipes so last week our lake house guests got to try this.  Luckily, I did get a big nod of approval.  As I look at these photos while composing this post for you, I am anxious to make another pot of this and I already had a green smoothie breakfast!  I hope you will enjoy it just as much as I do.

Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast
Yield: approx 4 cups
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup raisins
1 med apple chopped small (save some for garnish)
stevia or agave to taste
1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
4 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1 cup fresh organic blueberries
optional – fresh raspberries, fresh strawberries, chopped pecans or almonds, hemp seeds
Method
Combine quinoa, almond milk, cinnamon, allspice, raisins in medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and then place lid on pan and reduce to low heat.  After 5 mins stir in chopped apple and simmer for approx 5-7 mins longer.  Stir and check for remaining liquid and if most is absorbed then remove from heat, leaving lid on pan and let rest for 5 mins to absorb rest of the milk.  If when you peek, there is still lots of liquid, simmer for 3-5 mins longer but keeping a close eye over the pot as this mixture can easily burn if left to boil dry, then let it rest for 5 mins.  Taste for sweetness and adjust to your liking with 3-5 stevia drops or a dribble of agave syrup.  You may not need any additional sweetener as the raisins and apple do add a nice sweetness that may be just perfect for you.  Be cautious as even these natural sugars will spike your blood sugar levels and you want to minimize this.
Top each serving with walnuts, sunflower seeds, blueberries and remaining chopped apple.  If I have raspberries or strawberries on hand I like to toss them on top instead or as well!

How I Start my Alkaline Day
Alkalizing your body upon rising is an essential part of staying healthy. While sleeping our body rests but also gathers toxins ready for disposal upon waking. In order to effectively flush your body I recommend drinking alkaline water generously. This post I wrote on water elaborates on why you should drink more water.   If you don’t have an alkaline water filter you can alkalize filtered water quite effectively with these pH drops.  Each morning I begin my day with a glass of alkaline water before I even place my feet in my slippers beside my bed.  I place a glass of alkaline water on my night stand every night and I sip before turning out the light, sometimes I sip in the middle of the night if I wake and then I sip the rest when I awake.  Shortly there after I take my alkaline mineral salts, pHor salts, stirred in about 6 oz of filtered water.  If you don’t have these pHor salts you can use fresh squeezed lemon juice in water instead which is also very alkalizing.  After a few minutes of checking emails or tending to the kids I wash and trim the produce for our daily juice ritual, making this green juice recipe-the kids love this recipe.   After about 20-30 minutes when the juice has metabolized and we’ve dressed or played a while we enjoy our second course.  This quinoa dish absolutely hits the spot!  What I love about quinoa is that it’s a seed (not a grain) related to the spinach family and is also gluten free providing volumes of energy to start your day versus taking energy away from your body by elevating your blood sugar levels with something like a piece of white or even whole wheat toast.

Daily Supplements
The kids and I also take our supplements everyday with our breakfast.  My munchkins take a good multi-vitamin & mineral as well as fish oils for kids and a greens supplement.  It’s tricky to find something that they actually like– believe me I’ve tried many!  I take a number of Innerlight supplements and good omega oils such as flax, evening primrose & krill oil as I still feel as though I am on a journey to balancing my daily alkaline intake.  Once I feel completely optimized and my live blood analysis (check out this video on live blood) is to my satisfaction I will then minimize my daily supplement regime to include my omegas and the basics.  Dr. Robert O. Young, The pH Miracle, writes “Nutritional deficiencies increase the toxicity of mycotoxins, so you want to be sure that you get all that your body needs.  The minerals are important because all other nutrients, including vitamins, proteins. enzymes, amino acids and carbohydrates, require minerals for normal biochemical functioning”.  So do take your vitamins daily, as it can be tricky to consume everything a body needs consistently every single day.

Super Greens
During the morning I drink a liter of alkaline water with a scoop of super greens.  These super greens are grasses, sprouted grains and green vegetables all powdered to dissolve in water.  They infuse your body with easily absorbed vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). If I feel peckish mid morning I might snack on a handful of almonds, or juice again, or nibble on a raw bar of some sort with a cup of herbal tea.  I can’t imagine going back to my muffin and a latte for breakfast even though I did enjoy it.  I just know too much now and I feel soooo much better everyday with way more energy and I no longer have the sugar highs and lows.  When I become hungry it’s not sudden, it’s a gradual feeling of “Hmmm I could use a little snack”–not “Oh my word I’m starving”.  If I leave it too long I might feel too hungry but a great fix is a good gulp of super greens to even out my blood sugar and put my hunger back into perspective so I can make a good choice about what I am going to eat next versus the desperate feeling of having to shovel something quickly into my mouth.  Those days are gone and I am ever so grateful. So there you have it–a recipe for a good daily regime to maintain your energy level and keep you feeling great.  It may seem overwhelming but it really is rather simple and it’s the ticket to vibrant health!

To recap, the 4 most important things for my daily alkaline regime are

1) Drink alkaline water upon rising with alkaline minerals or fresh lemon juice with these pH drops

2) Juice fresh vegetables before consuming concentrated foods

3) Take a multi-vitamin, a multi-mineral and my omega oils

4) Drink super greens in your alkaline water thru the day consuming 2-3 litres each day

What’s does your current daily morning routine look like? Are you happy with what you eat and how you feel?  Are you contemplating changes?  If you are, give yourself time to ease in and begin to feel the benefits and the better you feel the more you will crave the healthy routine.  Giving up coffee is tricky but once you do, you honestly won’t have a desire for it.  Try skipping a cup or two a day, then skipping a day altogether, then every other day until it’s just once or 2x’s per week and then none at all.  I don’t even think about coffee in the morning any more.  My juice is what I seriously crave every morning and the days I miss out I feel completely deprived.  If I decide periodically to have a coffee, it’s a social experience and I choose a decaf made with almond milk and it’s a real treat:)  If you need any support here, drop me a line and I’d be happy to inspire you further.

Hope you have an energetic week.

Julie

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{ 27 comments }

Jessica August 13, 2010 at 9:58 am

Hi Julie,

Thanks for the great post! I’m a lover of morning routines as well – and mine includes a green drink, suplements, and poridge as well! I make my poridge with toasted and untoasted buckwheat groats, adding a bit of freshly rolled oat and spelt flakes from the market to help it come together. I tend to take mine to the office – so it’s usually room temp – but I find I actually prefer this over the piping hot version. Served up with unsweetened almond milk, soaked almonds (to enable better digestion) and hemp seeds … I eat it almost every day and never seem to get enough of it! With no added sugar – just fresh grated cinnamon to add extra flavour – I avoid the sugar spike sooo many breakfast foods leave you with.

Yay for morning rituals!!

Julie August 13, 2010 at 11:25 am

Jessica, yours sounds delightful too! I must try something like your recipe. I have just been enjoying the groats in some energy bars and I love the texture-yum! The green drink is key though, don’t you think? Thanx for stopping by.

Alex November 29, 2010 at 9:38 am

Hey Julie
I discovered breakfast quinoa through my Grammy! I got her hooked on quinoa to replace rice and other grains so she could improve her health (she even whips up a mean green juice now!) and I was rewarded when one morning she prepared “breakfast quinoa” a then unheard of phenomenon. I’m going to try it with almond milk I hadn’t even thought of that so thanks for the tip!
Alex

Julie November 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm

Alex, I love that you are inspiring your Grammy. Often older folks are resistant to change, so hats off to you!

Kacey Olson January 10, 2011 at 10:19 am

I’d love to know more about what you give your kids that they like- supplements and recipes. I’ve been trying a lot of this with my kids, but they are somewhat resistant. Are there brands or recipes that are favorites?

Julie January 16, 2011 at 10:33 pm

Kacey, thanx for your question. I regularly provide supplements for my kids. For my 5 yr old daughter who cannot swallow a pill, she drinks chlorophyll drops in water daily and she takes kids omega fish oils, vitamin C, a Multi vitamin/mineral, and vitamin D drops as needed. My 9 yr old son takes wheat grass capsules with a generous amount of water, and the same supplements as my daughter. If they are showing any signs of a cold, which is really toxic elimination, I offer extra doses of the wheat grass or chlorophyll along with pHor salts either by capsule or powder in water. If they brush their teeth first we’ve found that the salts are easier to manage. Our key rule is lots of raw veggies EVERY SINGLE DAY at 3 out of 3 meals, no ifs ands buts or maybes. If we miss a meal then the snack is veggies. It’s worked wonders for their health. We juice for the morning serving and they eat crudites or salad for the other servings. They still enjoy lots of other foods but the balance is always present. I hope this helps and that you continue to work towards a healthy regime. It is crucial for children to learn healthy eating and the agony that it saves from many, many disorders to poor skin is enormous. All the best.

pina January 28, 2011 at 7:31 pm

hi, i just discovered your site, i love the recipes and info
its just what i needed
thank you
love it !

Leia MacDonald April 20, 2011 at 2:38 pm

Hi Ladies,

I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your website. Your photos are wonderful, as is the overall design of the site. It is very informative too! The recipes look fantastic, I can’t wait to test some out.

Thanks for spending time on this project,

Leia

betty August 22, 2011 at 8:39 pm

what an inspiring post thank you 🙂

Lana January 16, 2012 at 4:07 pm

Gorgeous recipe! I love quinoa and make a ton of things with it.. so delicious. I was just wondering, looking at your alkaline chart I couldn’t seem to find quinoa (it’s still early in the morning, I may have overlooked it in the list but I can’t seem to find it!) so was hoping you knew how it stands on the alkaline to acid spectrum? I was thinking it would be more to the alkaline side, however would like to see if it’s better than brown rice?

Thanks for the beautiful website! I have been on a gluten/dairy/refined sugar free diet for the last couple years and have just recently noticed that somewhere along the way I’ve become a full vegan as well.. and now am picking up on the alkaline vs. acid diet as well!

Cheers from a fellow vancouverite.. who is now hanging out in Australia for the year!

Lana

Julie January 17, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Lana, the chart I have is from Dr. Robert O. Young and he has such an accurate ash measure but didn’t do quinoa I suppose! It is a low alkaline food but is a healthy super one as it has all 8 amino acids, making it a complete protein so eat lots of it balanced with raw salad or raw veggies to process all that protein. It’s most certainly better for you than brown rice in my opinion but a little brown rice is still fine as long as it is in the 20%-30% range on your plate with 70-80% alkaline to balance. Good for you with such a clean diet, free of all the bad stuff! Ooooh Aussie! I need to get there one of these days!! Cheers, Julie:)

Nicole March 9, 2012 at 10:09 pm

Hi there, I have just discovered your site and tried this recipe for breakfast this morning and loved it!! yummo thank you! Struggling my way through chronic fatigue syndrome at the moment and trying lots of new things to see if anything helps, just wondered about the super greens you mentioned, does it change the flavour of the water at all? And I usually have warm water with lemon, can the PH drops be used in warm/hot water? Thanks so much keep up the great site I look forward to reading more (:

Julie March 13, 2012 at 10:07 am

Hi Nicole, so sorry to hear about your fatigue but I have every faith that you can over come it with a healthy lifestyle. It may seem too simple to be able to cure such a syndrome with just health food but food is what truly nourishes our body to make it function in the first place so you are certainly on the right track. If you could pick up a copy of the pH Miracle you will learn soooo much about the reasons for disease and what you truly need to do to live a healthy life free of disease- this may seem impossible but even those with cancers have seen tremendous results. The super greens are amazing and will really help you to get back on track. They are energizing which will be very helpful for you as well as assisting built up toxins to leave your body while building healthy tissues with the nutrients. I drank this every day for 3 years and still do now but it was most beneficial when I began and helped speed my healing process. It does have a rather neutral taste,not bad not good just fine but you can add lemon juice to it like my sister did. The pH drops should be fine in warm water as minerals are not heat sensitive but try not to drink hot as this is a little harder on our bodies to process as is very cold water. Also if you don’t have a juicer yet I would say this is what changed my life the most and healed my body. Juicing veggies is the whole foods way to add super concentrated nutirents to your daily routine with out taking so many synthetically produced vitamins. If you need supplements which while healing most people do I would add to the juicing routine the liquid colloidal drops that Dr. Young formulate now sold at Innerlight -this an example of the B-Complex . I took most of them and they were also very instrumental in my healing as they are absorbed in the mouth and bipass the stomach which is helpful since many of us have absorption problems in our digestive track. I would start here but would highly recommend seeing a holistic nutritionist to tweak any other areas you may need help with. Eventually I will be of more assistance once I complete my studies. But do check your digestion out. This is the number one issue in most diseases, either leakage is happening (undigested food is getting thru your lining and causes inflammation in any part of the body) or you may not be absorbing many nutrients at all and not even know it. This will help you heal. All the best and so glad you landed here! PLs Keep me posted on your progress!

Nicole March 13, 2012 at 5:12 pm

Hi Julie, Thank you for your kind words! I actually do also suffer from Fructose Malabsorption, IBS and Leaky Gut so what you are saying has rung very true and the more I am learning about Chronic Fatigue the more I am realising how interconnected it all is… Thank you for your recommendations I am going to find a holistic nutritionist and see if they are suitable and if so start on them straight away (; do you know if Innerlight ships to Australia? Looking forward to trying more of your delicious recipes! Will let you know how I go (:
Cheers Nicole

admin March 22, 2012 at 8:11 pm

Nicole, another reader discovered that inner light does NOT ship to australia. Sorry about that. You can try this site here and see if they will ship? If not it may have to do with aussie laws and import rules on supplements.

Candi July 19, 2012 at 12:19 pm

In the alkaline lists I have found, most of the ingredients you listed with this breakfast are acidic, like the blueberries, walnuts, apple and strawberries..Which list do you use? Every one I have states these are acidic and if they are NOT I would LOVE to add them back to my bland morning “smoothie” of almond milk and banana. Breakfast is the hardest for me as I can’t eat wheat and I have too much uric acid so no green drinks since they contain spinach and a few other items high in purines.
Also at what times of the day besides the 2nd in the a.m. should you test your urine pH?
Thanks!!!

julie August 31, 2012 at 11:23 pm

Hi Candi, yes you are correct with regards to the acidity of the berries and nuts. However, the quinoa is a seed and is very healthy indeed as a protein, yet somewhat acidic, but it is all about a balance. I never have this for breakfast unless I first have my green juice, which for me, is my balance for this meal. I highly recommend reading the pH Miracle book on the sidebar of the site to truly understand the uric acid and the benefits of greens in your diet. There are ways to sort this out once and for all. I would suggest trying avocado in place of the banana to minimize your sugar in the smoothie. Use lime juice and ginger and sweeten with stevia. You might be pleasantly surprised! Fresh mint and coconut water are lovely in this too! Afternoon 2 hrs after eating is also a good time for pH testing. Do this for a few days to see the consistency or not:)

Sarah July 30, 2012 at 1:05 am

This looks so delicious!! I have just done a one week alkaline detox because I get very bad psoriasis, I have had it for years and the doctors haven’t been able to help at all so I decided a change in diet might help! As it has only been one week there hasn’t been a lot of improvement but I am hoping I will start seeing changes soon. I stumbled across your website as I was researching on how I should eat after the detox is over. I am so glad I found your website! All this food looks absolutely delicious. And I look porridge but can’t have oats, so this recipe is very exciting 🙂

Sarah July 30, 2012 at 10:01 pm

I also just wanted to know how often you eat fish? I love salmon and would love to eat it once a week. How do you always know that the meal you’re eating is 80% alkaline, I suppose you would just get the hang of it? I had a salad today with a boiled egg and about 100 grams of salmon and didn’t really realise until afterwards that I hadn’t even thought about the 80-20 ratio! 🙂 I wasn’t really sure how to work it out, does it just mean 80% of your plate is full of alkaline foods?
sorry for all the questions!

julie August 31, 2012 at 10:58 pm

Sarah, I believe that this lifestyle has to be simple to really benefit ones health. Just by eyeing your plate you can judge 70-80% alkaline foods for each meal. You will gradually begin to prepare and pay attention to your intake as you begin to notice how you feel after each meal. A small piece of salmon (max. fist sized) with a big salad is a perfect alkaline balanced meal. Keep up the good eating:)

Daisy August 14, 2012 at 1:58 pm

I just stumbled upon your blog, love it! Beautiful pictures and a great source of information. I’ll be coming back! 🙂

Jean November 6, 2012 at 10:00 am

I really enjoy your website. Every time I visit I always learn something new. The quinoa recipe sounds delicious. I’ve tried making breakfast quinoa with milk before but couldn’t get the quinoa to absorb the milk. Needless to say, it didn’t come out good. I’m going to give your recipe a try today.
If you don’t mind, I would like to put some of your website information on my website: http://www.EatRight2FightCancer.com I will give your website full credit for the information.

julie November 15, 2012 at 11:45 am

Jean, please share and yes please provide a link. Good luck with the quinoa, it should work out. If it doesn’t absorb it all you can add things that will once it cools a bit like sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and even chia seeds. If it’s too hot it will damage the good oils in these additions so let it come to a warm temp, not hot. Let me know how it goes:)

Guðný February 2, 2013 at 2:57 am

Hi.
Yesterday I tried out the quinoa recipe, and just loved it! I had tried quinoa before, but with much less luck, so I was thrilled to have found a recipe that tasted so good 🙂

And thank you for this great website.

Manya May 29, 2013 at 12:20 pm

Good info, I recently had bad acid reflux in my throat and then this tightness in my stomach. It has crashed me in more ways then one , taking immune drops and sun chrollea right now . I love Quiona but think it would cause problems right now if I mixed it with anything. Have not missed work for three years feel like I’m going to melt . Vitamin D is low doctors keep doing there blood test , it’s taking too long

admin June 11, 2013 at 8:42 am

Manya, sorry so tardy, hope you are coming around. The alkaline foods should definitely help with your issues. Let me know how you are:)

Loria July 31, 2013 at 6:35 am

I made this quinoa this morning, minus the raisins bc I didn’t have any..and used stevia to sweeten. I have to say, it was DELICIOUS! I’ve never had “sweet” quinoa before, only savory, so this was a new experience for me. I loved it! Great addition to oatmeal, and best of all, its alkaline, and that’s what I’m striving for, thank u so much for this wonderful recipe!!

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