Gluten-Free Quinoa and Yogurt Breakfast Recipes

Quinoa is one of the new kids on the block. Do not apply English phonic rules to say its name; the name is correctly pronounced "KEEN-wa."

Quinoa is a small seed grain originally cultivated by Andean peoples before the invasion of Europeans in South America. Currently, the largest producers of quinoa are Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. Although one once needed to scour health food stores to purchase quinoa, it has now made its way to the shelves of mainstream grocery stores.

A great feature of these recipes is that the quinoa can be cooked the night before or even two days before. Since these are cold breakfast entrees, using pre-cooked, refrigerated grain works.

These are instructions for cooking a single serving portion of quinoa.

In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of water with 1/4 cup of quinoa. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Watch the boiling and lower the heat if needed to prevent boiling over or burning. Then turn off the heat and keep the saucepan covered with a lid for 10 minutes. By the end of that time, all the water should be absorbed and the quinoa is cooked.

In the first recipe, almonds shine as they provide significant Vitamin E and good fats that lower one's bad cholesterol. The black cherries are also a super food. Recent studies show that tart black cherries are packed with significant melatonin — a hormone credited with slowing the aging, helping sleep and fighting jet lag, and depression.

Blueberries are one of the foods considered to be a super food. Blueberries have anthocyanins, chemicals associated with health benefits such as prevention of heart disease and cancer. Some researchers feel that these anthocyanins may combat aging and reverse age-related memory loss. Walnuts are also regarded as a super food for the heart and the brain.

• 1/4 plus cup, cooked quinoa
• one single serving container blueberry Greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon walnuts

1. Spread the cooked quinoa at the bottom of a bowl
2. Open the yogurt, stir to mix, and spread on the grain.
3. Sprinkle the walnuts over the yogurt.

These are the statistics for each recipe.

Black Cherry-Almond Breakfast Parfait:

Calories 377

Fats 73 g

Carbohydrates 56 g

Sugars 23 g

Fiber 5 g

Protein 20 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 53 mg

Vitamin C 4%

Calcium 17%

Iron 14%

Copper 7%

Vitamin E 12%

Riboflavin 57%

Phosphorus 30%

Manganese 20%

Magnesium 10%

Blueberry-Walnut Breakfast Parfait

Calories 402

Fats 93 g

Carbohydrates 54 g

Sugars 25 g

Fiber 4 g

Protein 20 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 53 mg

Vitamin D 15%

Calcium 16%

Iron 14%

Riboflavin 50 %

Phosphorus 23%

Magnesium 5%

These simple but uncommon meals are an easy way to fuel up for the morning. They also have the benefit of helping you maintain a healthy life. That should put a smile on the face of even Morning Grumps.

Photos and text copyright 2014 Maren E. Morgan.