Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast & How I start my Alkaline day

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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