Hot Pumpkin Breakfast Quinoa from The Wanna Be Chef

A pumpkin soufflé of sorts

Readers who know me personally will know that I have a slight streak of OCD in me (actually I’m pretty sure it runs in throughout my whole family). Once I get an idea in my head, it stays there until I thoroughly investigate it, experiment with it and pontificate on it. And then, with the snap of a finger, I’m done with said topic and its gone.

That said, I can either blame my current infatuation on all things pumpkin (especially when paired with quinoa) on my little OCD problem – or – the fact that pumpkins are in season and they’re everywhere. I’m going with the latter so literally it can’t really be my fault that I’m fixated.

Last week I whipped up pumpkin quinoa muffins. Today, its hot breakfast in a cup. My pictures aren’t as pretty as The Wanna Be Chef’s but it cooked up quick and it was hot, delicious and healthy. Its also perfect for a pre or post workout meal because its loaded with protein.

Note: The original recipe calls for a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the option of maple syrup. I very may well have mis-measured but I found the salt overpowering. Adding the maple syrup tempered this a bit. If you’re foregoing the maple syrup try this without the salt (or just measure more carefully than I did).

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup cooked quinoa*
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 tablespoon nut butter (I use unsalted almond butter from Sprouts)
• 1 tablespoon chopped nuts
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

Directions:

1. Crack two eggs into a small bowl and whisk with a fork
2. Add quinoa, pumpkin, salt and spices
3. Pour into a small ramekin or microwave safe bowl
4. Cook on high for 3 minutes
5. Allow to cool slightly and top with nut butter and nuts

If you’re fresh out of pumpkin and not weirded about by quinoa, you can substitute a mashed banana with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg in place of the pumpkin pie spice. Again I left out the salt and the results were amazing (although I think there’s a bit of egg mist on the ceiling of my microwave). I added a bit of maple syrup and nearly swooned.

Kat’s Tip: Make your own pumpkin pie spice by combining 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon *each* allspice and nutmeg.

Kat’s Second Tip: I buy quinoa in bulk at Sprouts. It cooks up just like rice; one part quinoa to two parts water. I use my rice cooker but you could do it on the stove top as well. Quinoa has a bitter coating which washes away with water so make sure you rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer before cooking.

Serves one

Nutritional information (including nut butter and nuts):

Calories 404.0  Total Fat 26.4 g  Cholesterol 370.0 mg  Sodium 152.4 mg  Potassium 458.3 mg  Total Carbohydrate 26.4 g  Protein 19.4 g

Source: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/10/24/hot-pumpkin-breakfast-quinoa/