I mentioned this yummy breakfast treat the other morning and received so many requests for the recipe, I’ve decided to oblige. So here it is – Creamy Quinoa Breakfast Pudding!

But first, before I get to the recipe, let me give a quick crash-course on the magic of quinoa, for all of you quinoa virgins out there.

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is a small, round, whole-grain, that comes from the Chenopodium plant (above), and is a protein POWERHOUSE. It is the only grain that contains all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Vegetarians rejoice! It is also gluten-free (gluten is the protein found in food grains), making it an excellent and nutritious grain option for those with gluten-sensitivities. It’s even been said that “while no single food can supply all of the essential life-sustaining nutrients, it comes as close as any other in the vegetable or animal kingdom.”

It only takes about 15 minutes to cook 1 cup of quinoa, but before you toss it in the pot, make sure you first rinse it thoroughly. Quinoa is covered with a bitter residue, called saponin, which causes the quinoa to taste very unpalatable if not rinsed before it is cooked.

Two options for rinsing: 1) Use a small-screened sieve, or 2) if you don’t have one of those, try placing a coffee filter inside your pasta strainer. Just be sure whatever you do, the strainer holes are small enough so that the quinoa kernels don’t slip through and slide down the drain (Ah! Not wasted quinoa! What a crime!).

So what do you do with it? Eat it! To be more specific (and less snarky), quinoa is often served as a side-dish in place of rice, or as a fresh, cool, and crisp quinoa salad.

THIS recipe however, turns your run-of-the-mill quinoa side-dish on its head.
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