Mmm Mmm Good & Good for You Apples & Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

My husband and I are heading back to the wine country of California for Thanksgiving this year.  I can't wait.  I love it there.  When we win the lottery we're moving to Healdsburg!  But until then we just have to visit every once in a while.

In order to make sure I can zip my jeans, sit down, and breath all at the same time, I'm trying to get a few extra pounds off before we go.  When I need great recipes that are good for me and made with real ingredients (non-fat cheese is not cheese... I'm not even sure if it's really food!) I gravitate to the SkinnyTaste blog.  On that website you will find great recipes for snacks, any meal of the day and desserts!  I plan on making the Chicken Pot Pie Soup later today!

I've had the Apples & Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa on my list of things to try for a while.  It's a cold, drizzly day here today, perfect for a nice warm comforting breakfast.

Here is a LINK to the recipe.  I made a few adjustments to suit our tastes.

First, I didn't have a full cup of red quinoa (our favorite) so I mixed it with regular old quinoa.  Pretty, right?  Make sure you rinse the quinoa well.  If you don't it tastes a little bitter.

Also, Dave and I aren't big fans of golden raisins so I don't stock them either.  We used regular old raisins!  Instead of the gala apple I used a Honeycrisp (I love them!) and lucky for us I had made homemade applesauce last week!

The recipe called for pecans as well.  I like them toasted so I added that step.

It all comes together pretty easily.  The quinoa, a little cinnamon and a little vanilla are boiled in water for about 15 minutes.  To this yummy mixture you add the applesauce, raisins and some warmed milk.

Top it off with the apples, pecans and a sprinkle of cinnamon and breakfast is served.

I really liked this!  The quinoa itself has a little nutty flavor then you'd get a punch of nut with the toasted pecans.  In one mouthful you get all that nutty flavor, but also sweet from the apples and raisins and who doesn't like a little cinnamon this time of year!  The quinoa is soft but not mushy and the apples and nuts are crunchy so you get everything in this little dish!

My husband loved it two, he went back for more twice!

A serving is 316 calories with 8 grams of fat and 53 grams of carbs.  But it also has 6 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein so theoretically it should keep you full.  Theoretically.  I found myself wanting more!