This is a wonderful breakfast for anyone but especially Ayurvedic Vata types. It is aromatic, nourishing, and comforting…perfect for easing your way into the day.
Heat water over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add apples and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
While the apples are cooking, add remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir occasionally, for an additional 5-10 minutes. The liquid that is not soaked up will form a delicious, flavorful syrup. Serve hot.
When our family gave up cold cereals for breakfasts, I made several homemade cold cereals to keep in the pantry for those days when no one wanted to cook breakfast. The idea for the crunchy kasha came to me after reading about traditional kasha porridge made from buckwheat. I decided that if people made granola out of oats (essentially crunchy oatmeal), why couldn’t I make a crunchy version of kasha? My children loved it! This recipe is only lightly sweetened.
Place groats into a 1/2 gallon wide mouthed mason jar or other container with a similar capacity.
Rinse the groats well with filtered water and drain. Add the acidifyer (live whey, lemon juice, or ACV). The acidyfier will help in the process to reduce phytic acid in the buckwheat. [url=”http://phyticacid.org”]Read more about phytic acid reduction.[/url] Then, completely fill the jar with filtered water. Cover and allow the buckwheat to soak on the counter for 8 hours.
Rinse the now swollen goats two or three times, or until no longer foamy. Foam is a normal occurrence when soaking buckwheat.
Mix together honey, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.
For raw kasha: Pour honey mixture onto buckwheat and stir gently to evenly distribute. If the honey is too sticky, just go back and stir the buckwheat after an hour or so after it’s been in the dehydrator. Pour buckwheat onto dehydrator trays and dry at 150 to 170 degrees for 12-24 hours or until completely dry and crunchy. I tend to stir it a couple of times during the drying period.
For a toasted kasha: Pour honey mixture onto buckwheat and stir gently to distribute. Pour buckwheat onto 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 250-300 stirring 3 or 4 times until buckwheat is completely dry and crunchy and lightly golden in color, about 2-3 hours.
Store in a mason jar in the pantry.
Serve topped with raw milk and favorite mix-ins like fresh or dried fruit, crispy nuts or seeds or shredded coconut. It also makes a great crunchy yogurt topping.
and dehydrate at 150 degrees
A great peanut flavor, slightly sweet and a thin crispy crust on top. Great breakfast or snack, warm or cold. If I forget to start the oats soaking 24 hours in advanced, I throw in ¼ cup rye flour or flakes to speed the breakdown of antinutrients. This recipe is yummy with any nut butter, make your own with soaked and dehydrated nuts for super nutrition.
Soak oats with water and whey for 24 hours. Place in fine strainer, rinse well and let drip for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine sugar, butter and peanut butter, mix well. Beat in eggs, salt and vanilla. Carefully thin out with milk, mix in strained oats and pour into a 9 by 13 baking dish, spread evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with bananas, raisins and fresh whipped cream.
Made from organically grown heirloom dent or flour corn, fresh hominy is a lovely addition to soups, stews or even eaten with unrefined salt and butter for breakfast! The process described here for preparing the corn is called “nixtamalization” and greatly enhances the nutritional profile of the corn. It does take some time, but is not difficult, and if you make a substantial amount all at once and freeze or can the extra, it will be ready to eat when you are!
The night before: Pour dried corn kernels into a large colander. Rinse thoroughly. Remove any ugly or damaged kernels.
Into a 2-gallon heavy-bottomed pot, pour the rinsed corn, add the lime and cover with filtered water half again as deep as the depth of the corn.
Stir. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat. Leave this to sit all night.
In the morning, pour the corn into a large stainless colander and rinse thoroughly.
Fill the cooking kettle with lots of cold water and pour in the corn. Work the corn with your hands, rubbing and stirring and rubbing and stirring. The water will become yellow.
Strain through the colander and rinse.
Repeat this process until the water is clear when you work the corn. It will take about 4 changes of water.
Rinse in the colander again and return to the pot. Cover well with filtered water.
Bring to a boil, put on the lid and reduce heat.
Simmer until the hominy is very tender (approximately 3 hours). Check to make sure it remains submerged in water.
Drain. Serve warm with unrefined sea salt and plenty of butter.
Freeze the extra in meal-sized containers, or ~ hominy may be canned. Consult a canning guide for instructions on how to can safely.
This quick and healthy breakfast can be modified with any fresh or dried fruit that you have on hand. You can also experiment with different seeds and nuts in this dish to give the couscous a different texture. This recipe is a nice alternative to your regular breakfast oatmeal.
Heat the couscous, milk, honey, cinnamon, and cranberries in a pot over medium heat. Stir frequently.
Remove the pot from the heat when all the milk has been absorbed into the couscous.
Place the couscous in bowls and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Serve warm.
Editor’s Note: Couscous should be soaked overnight or at least 8 hours in warm filtered water (enough to cover) along with an acidic medium such as lemon juice, vinegar or whey (approx 1-2 Tbsp). Soaking grains properly before preparation will allow you to absorb nearly double the minerals and vitamins from grains. Learn more about the importance of soaking grains on the Phytic Acid website. After soaking, simply discard soaking liquid, rinse, and proceed with the recipe as above..
Keep breakfast interesting by changing things up from time to time. This cake-like baked oatmeal is made with a little chocolate, some almonds and nutritious coconut. We like to serve it with a drizzle of fresh cream to help with the richness.
The day before you want to bake your oatmeal, combine oats, flour, and almonds (if using sourdough soaking option, omit the flour) and water in a medium bowl. Cover and leave on the kitchen counter for at least 12 hours, but longer is best when it comes to oats, up to 24 hours. Use of a heating pad on low under the container is helpful to reduce phytic acid even more.
In the morning, beat coconut oil, sweetener and eggs together until glossy. Add baking powder, sea salt, coconut, cocoa and vanilla and stir until well combined.
Pour mixture over soaked oats and beat until a batter forms and there are no lumps.
Pour batter into 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
Serve drizzled with fresh cream and extra shredded coconut on top!
A creamy, delicious, widely-adaptable and nutritious breakfast dish.
This recipe is a great base for riffing on your own! While I note organic is preferred for everything, do the best you can, and don’t feel bad about using non-organic products if they are not available or are too expensive in your area. Even with “less whole” substitutions, this is a tasty and nutritious way to start the day (and it’s not a bad snack, either!)
This recipe can easily be made vegan/dairy-free, gluten-free (using rice processed in a GF facility,) and allergen-free by selecting from the substitutes.
Substitutions:
For the maple syrup, you can use 2 Tablespoons honey plus 1 Tablespoon molasses, or 2 Tablespoons agave nectar. I have not tried granulated sweeteners with this recipe, but they should work just fine added in place of the syrup at the same point.
For the milk, you can use an equal amount of coconut milk, goat or sheep milk, nut milk, or anything your family enjoys. Water is also possible, though the creamy texture will be affected.
For the rice, nearly any grain will work for this recipe, if soaked and pre-cooked.
Toppings:
Chopped nuts, dried fruit, rolled oats (soaked, et cetera as applicable)
Fresh cream (organic, raw preferred)
Additional sweetener, such as honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar
Sliced fresh fruit
Grated citrus zest (lemon and orange are both wonderful)
Vanilla bean paste (contains processed sugar, use with discretion)
Method:
My friend Millie at Real Food for Less Money came up with the base for this recipe, and I’m so glad she did!
Heat the rice and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbly.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook to soften the rice, stirring often to help the rice break down a bit (about 5-10 minutes.)
Add the syrup (or subbed sweetener,) salt, and spices.
Stir well to mix and allow to continue cooking.
Break and beat the eggs in a separate small bowl.
Temper the eggs by adding a small spoonful of the rice mixture to the eggs, stirring quickly.
Add another spoonful of the hot rice mixture to the eggs, again stirring quickly and well.
Add the eggs to the rice mixture on the stove, stirring swiftly to prevent clots of eggs forming.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla and hazelnut extracts, stirring well to combine.
Top with your preferred toppings, pulling from the suggestions above or going completely off the chart with something else - so many delicious possibilities with this base!
Sweet, crunchy and a quick-grab-breakfast; cereal is an excellent invention. The food industry has really done a number on this convenience food with all it’s extrusion, colors, preservatives and other chemicals and processes. I understand fully that still, it is a hard thing to give up. There are so many varying levels of commitment in a real food journey and once “the box” is gone, you have officially turned a corner in my book.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind two cups of almonds with one cup of kefir in blender until smooth. Pour mixture into large bowl and repeat with two cups almonds and one cup kefir, pour into bowl. Grind one final batch, this time using two cups peanuts and the final cup of kefir, add this to the large bowl as well. Place oil, honey, salt and vanilla in blender to combine well and add to nuts. Stir the entire batter to combine, sprinkle coconut flour on mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into a half sheet pan (9 x13) and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool and then crumble onto baking sheets or dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 150-200 degrees for 12 - 16 hours. Once cooled, store in airtight container in the refrigerator.
This is a nutritious, comforting breakfast for a cold morning! It is also super easy to throw together after soaking overnight, and after starting, you can walk away until ready to eat!
The evening before, soak millet in water and apple cider vinegar. In the morning, turn the burner to high and add remaining ingredients; when it comes to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for about an hour. At the end of that time, you can serve as is, or turn back on to thicken up a bit.
Are you on the GAPS diet and miss cereal? This grain free version is just as good, if not better than it’s grain full counterpart.
Cover almonds and sunflower seeds with water and 1 tbsp salt and let set overnight. Drain.
Heat oven to 200F. Combine nuts and remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and granola spread evenly. Let bake for several hours, 4-6. Stir occasionally and break up large pieces.
Serve with milk or yogurt. I like to sprinkle a small handful of golden raisins and a tablespoon of ground flaxseed in my cereal.
Fried Cornmeal Mush reminds me of my great-grandmother. It was something special she would make for breakfast when we were visiting her. I’ll never forget how the crunchy, salty outside with a warm chewy center tasted in my mouth with the sweet maple syrup. If you’ve never had fried cornmeal mush, you’re in for a treat!
Soak
Cover 1 cup of cornmeal or grits with 2 cups of lime water and allow to soak at least 8 hours, but preferably 24 hours. When done soaking, rinse and drain cornmeal twice. (If using organic masa, skip this step and proceed below, you will likely have to use additional water since your corn did not soak and masa soaks up more moisture)
Butter 3 small loaf pans or 1 large loaf pan. Alternately, you could line them with parchment paper.
Place soaked cornmeal, salt and 2 cups of stock or water in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan. Turn heat on medium. When the mixture begins to bubble, lower heat and stir constantly, adding a little more water or stock if the mixture is getting too thick. You’re looking for the consistency of thick cake batter. Cook the mush for about 5 minutes more once desired consistency is reached.
Pour cooked mush into the loaf pans and allow to cool. Once mostly cooled, store in the refrigerator up to a week or until ready to fry.
To Fry:
Melt a tablespoon or so of your fat of choice in a cast iron skillet set to medium low heat. Un-mold the mush and slice into 1/4 - 1/3 inch slices (I do this as I fry them, rather than all at once because they can be fragile. Also, if you use the large loaf pan, I slice the loaf in half lengthwise first and then make slices.). Fry mush slices in hot oil on both sides for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool and drain on a plate lined with paper towel or cloth. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired.
Serve topped with a drizzle of grade B maple syrup.
*NOTE: I’ve also made this by soaking whole corn kernels in the warm lime water for 24 hours. Rinsing and draining. Then, pulsing in a food processor until the corn is the texture I want. Then cook it into porridge above and proceeding with the rest.
I love oats… I love oatmeal… here is a new way to enjoy them for breakfast!
24 hours ahead of when you want to serve these, rinse the oat groats, cover them with water, about 2 inches above the oats. Stir in the whey and whole wheat flour. Cover and allow to soak at room temperature.
After 24 hours, drain and carefully rinse. Return the soaked oats to a heavy-bottomed sauce pan.
Add water until it is 1 inch above oats. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, covered, tasting a few now and then until they are as tender as you want them to be. Stir frequently.Be sure to keep enough water in the pan to cover them.
When the groats are done, strain out any extra water. Serve with butter, milk, and maple syrup or other natural sweetener.