Breakfast Champion: Quinoa Oatmeal Mush

A double-wammy win for Pinterest this week, folks! We are on a golden streak, and I could not be happier. This breakfast creation was inspired by a number of recipes I've been seeing on Pinterest involving baked oatmeal, oatmeal smoothies, and other yummy breakfast items.

Recently, something in my brain just *clicked.* I realize now how great breakfast is. Really now, Jennifer? Really?  I know, I know. And yes, I am really just that stubborn and resistant to arbitrary things that my mind deems "irrelevant," for whatever pointless reason. It used to be coffee (L-O-L I literally will pee in my pants crying at the thought of how anti-coffee I used to be. Who was smuggling cocaine into my water and did you run out of money to do this, or what? Why the sudden stop?), alcohol, cooking... does this mean I'll be seeing a tattoo in my near future? Nahhh...I'm not that cray (???)

^pre heated

Well, we can now add *breakfast* to the list-of-things Jennifer has converted to in her quest to become that much more of a normal human being. Granted, I have a long ways to go. But step by step, I will slowly get there. And I'll be better fueled now too, now that I actually invest in breakfast! See what I did there?

^post-heated

Starting my day with breakfast is awesome. It gives me energy and puts me in the right mindset to start off my day. And being a Berkeley student, and being me, I need all the energy I can get. It also forces me to wake up earlier and have a nice, chill morning with plenty of time for  cooking breakfast/lunch, as opposed to having to run out of the door in a flurry. Drawn out mornings are the best. 

Morning:

i iz ready to do anything!

After classes/meetings/studying in the library: 

ah.....f*ck

My breakfast is a creation I put together myself, substituting quinoa for oatmeal. This substitution turned out to be awesome, because quinoa has a grainy texture and is also very very filling. So my stomach doesn't growl at a ridiculously embarrassing volume during my classes (seriously though...story of my LYFE). 

^w/ a dash of chocolate powder

I then added: 1) honey 2) cinnamon 3) peanut butter (ANOTHER USE for the gross natural peanut butter! YES). 4) Frozen berries 5) A teenyweeny bit of milk 6) Dash of ghiradelli chocolate powder, for when I want a sweeter kick 

I stir everything together and microwave it in intervals of 35 seconds, until I deem it ready to eat.

This recipe is a great base that can be altered in so many ways. It can do with or without the chocolate powder. You can add nuts to it if you have any on hand. Maybe try adding greek yogurt to it, although I don't know how well that will microwave. And it helps me use up this ginormous bag of frozen berries I bought the first week of school and have barely used since.

Difficulty: 1 

Willingness to make again: Every. Damn. Morning for the rest of my life.  

Over-all: 9

Notes:

1) Need to be careful how many berries I put into it, because it adds to the mushiness when you microwave it

2) Balance your ingredients/quinoa amounts so you don't have a weird mush-to-quinoa ratio. Taking into account microwave action. 

3) Haven't tried this cold, but I feel like it is best warm/hot 

4) Greek yogurt, maybe???? 

5) If I ever buy bananas, they would taste great sliced up and added after everything is heated up. OR mushed into the quinoa and heated to add a banana flavor to everything.