These chilly fall mornings have inspired me to look beyond the basic bowl of steel cut oats for a warming and energizing breakfast and in doing so, I had so much fun experimenting.  I love combining different grains and seeds when I make granola or other snacks for my boys, so I applied that same thought process to this.  As I scoured my favorite food blogs and cookbooks, I discovered something I had not thought of before…..grinding seeds and grains to make a flour.  The idea intrigued me and I had to try it immediately.  In order to ensure success, I went with a tried and true recipe from a cookbook I love, The Nourished Kitchen.  What I found was, making a flour from seeds changes everything about that seed except it’s nutrient profile.  For example, my children don’t love the funny little design quinoa makes when it is cooked.  Grinding quinoa into a flour gives me even greater ways to use this nutrient-dense little seed and helps me get around my kids not loving the way it looks.  

 These three seeds, amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa pack a powerful punch with their nutriton profile.    Amaranth is similar to quinoa in that it is a complete protein, but what really makes it stand out is, it has nine grams of protein in one cup, which is of an unusually really high quality.   It also has a significant amount of folate, iron, calcium, magnesium and maganese.     In looking for information on amaranth, I discovered quinoa has some really neat qualities that took me by surprise.  This seed is a serious source of some potent flavonoids, which are anti-inflammatory, antiviral and provide protection against cancer and depression.    I honestly had not thought of quinoa as having these properties before now.   Wow, I like it even more!  There are a lot of reasons to love buckwheat too.  It helps to reduce hypertension and has a positive effect on blood sugar levels, which is protective to our hearts.   And, it is a significant source of the essential amino acids lysine and arginine.  Everything I found on these three seeds made me realize even more that so many phytonutrients, micronutrients, and macronutrients that are contained in these tiny packages truly make them health promoters.  They are protective to our bodies in that they build the blood and strengthen our immunity.  They fight inflammation and stabilize our blood sugar.  They keep what causes disease in check.  With all of this impressive information on these guys, I couldn’t wait to try them all together in this recipe.

I decided to test this out on one of the coldest mornings so far this fall.  I loved that this recipe used warming spices to add flavor to these seeds.  First, freshly grated ginger is warmed with a little ghee, then the soaked and rinsed seeds are added with either a nut milk, coconut milk or cow’s milk.  I used homemade cashew milk.  Then cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg are added in while everything is gently simmered and stirred for about twelve minutes.  Top with fresh blueberries and grade B maple syrup.  After tasting it, yum!  It was like nothing I have ever had before.   Somehow, the blueberries bring out the ginger and make it magical.  This is breakfast with a purpose; to warm, nourish and energize.  Everything in it is from nature.  Besides being nourishing, eating foods so close to their natural source connects us to the earth, which gives vitality, balance and peace.  It is purposeful, meaningful and will feed your soul.  Find the recipe in my recipes section so you can try it too.  xxo!