Quinoa for Breakfast, Quinoa for Lunch, Quinoa ...

Zac and Alyssa shopped successfully on a budget, taking home 4 bags of groceries.

They spent $120, reducing their weekly expenditure at Whole Foods by one third!

And they brought their own carry bags (pic above) -- the per-bag credit WFs grants came off their total bill.

I dissuaded Z & A from buying a number of items including a very expensive bag of gluten-free pancake mix, suggesting they make their own breakfast pancakes using rice flour.

Here's the recipe for gluten-free pancakes:

Rice Flour Pancakes
1 cup rice flour
2 tblsp sweetener i.e. honey or maple syrup or brown sugar)
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 cup regular milk or rice milk or soy milk
2 tsp oil or ghee
pinch of salt and cinnamon if you wish

Beat ingredients together to form a thick batter. Drop spoonfuls into a well oiled skillet over med heat. Cook both sides till golden brown.

Zac mentioned that he sometimes eats quinoa granola for breakfast -- given his probable gluten sensitivity.

While at WFs, he showed me the boxed quinoa granola he's bought in the past. At about $7 for a small box, I dissuaded him from buying it again.

Instead, I proposed the following quinoa breakfast, which can be consumed hot or cold:

Quinoa for Breakfast
1) Boil a cup of quinoa in two cups water, lower the heat and continue cooking for about 20 mins or until the grain is light and fluffy and all the water has been absorbed.
2) Optional: To the cooking quinoa, add a cup of dried fruit, i.e. black cherries, raisins, cranberries.
3) Once cooked, either let the cooked quinoa cool before storing it in the fridge for consumption as a cold breakfast, or spoon the hot quinoa into a bowl for immediate consumption.

To Serve: As you can see from the pic above, I added sliced bananas, which I'd tossed in a little butter in a hot skillet (sauteing bananas enhances the flavor and removes some of the sticky starch consistency). To the side I added a blob of 365-brand black cherry fruit spread, then I tossed chopped nuts over the lot. A blog of yogurt would be a great addition.

Quinoa is a grain recommended for people who are gluten sensitive. It's high in protein, easy-to-digest, nutty flavored, and very versatile.

In addition to making the above breakfast dish, I used the leftover quinoa I cooked with dried black cherries to create a quick, light lunch. Like Z & A, I have braising greens, spring onions, and broccoli in my fridge this week so those are the veggies I used.

Quinoa for Lunch
1) Saute chopped spring onion, braising greens and broccoli in olive oil for about 5 mins
2) Add cooked quinoa, stirring well.
3) Pour in 1/4 cup water and quickly place the lid on the pan, steaming the veggies and grain for about 10 mins.

To Serve: Season, add chopped walnuts. You could also serve this savory quinoa dish with a blob of the 365-brand black cherry fruit spread since black cherries are a sweet-sour flavor and they compliment well the slightly bitter greens and nutty quinoa.