Breakfast Quinoa

I made a batch of quinoa for an appetizer I made and thought I would look on Pinterest to see what other ideas I could make with it. As a new mommy, breakfast is a hard thing thing to make/eat every morning. I saw a bunch of overnight oatmeal recipes on Pinterest and thought I could do something similar with my quinoa. The best part about this quick dish is that you can top it with anything you like! I basically went into my pantry picked out my toppings below and it turned out to be so good! I really had to hold myself back from adding chocolate morsels…

Breakfast Quinoa

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 quinoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of any nut butter (I used maple almond butter)
Toppings:
Sliced almonds
Shredded coconut
Cinnamon
Honey
1 sliced banana

Directions
Cook the quinoa per instructions on the box, substituting the water for the coconut milk. After the quinoa cooks, mix in the vanilla extract, nut butter and cinnamon. (You can melt the nut butter in the microwave to incorporate it easier). Add any toppings you’d like, I added the ones listed above. Drizzle with honey, and enjoy! You can serve warm and it will keep well in the refrigerator to heat up the next day too!

Recipe source: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/breakfast-quinoa/

Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites

These are by far the best, yummiest, healthiest, easiest dessert/snack I have ever had! I always keep these in my freezer for a quick bite or for a guilt-free dessert. I am also a self-proclaimed chocoholic (my poison: dark chocolate). I usually don’t buy bananas because we don’t eat them often. But when we do I always end up using them in dessert!

Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites

Ingredients

2 large bananas
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or dark)
1-2 tbsp cup milk of choice

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parchment. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2 inch thick. Spread a tiny dollop of peanut butter on top of each one. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and milk (­remember, less is more). Microwave in 15 second increments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dip-able consistency, not spreadable. Add a splash more milk if necessary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork as a little chocolate-coating forklift, dipping them into the melted chocolate. Place chocolate coated bananas on the prepared sheet and place in freezer until completely frozen (30 mins–1 hour). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.

Recipe source: http://nomnomnomblog.com/2011/05/11/a-taste-of-summer-and-a-new-video/