Ingredients
- Topping:
- 3 cups fluffy quinoa (quinoa cooking instructions here) unflavored, cooked in salted water
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk (or almond milk)
- warm spices of your choosing (cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne)
- almond butter
- 1 1/4 cups raw walnuts, roughly chopped/some left whole
- 2 bananas, diced into chunky cubes
- 2-3 Tbsp agave or maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract (opt’l)
- 1 tbsp safflower oil + pinch of salt OR 1 Tbsp vegan butter spread (veg spread)
- optional: dash of cayenne for those who like it with some heat!
Preparation
Step 1
Perfect quinoa:
Rinse your dry quinoa in water before cooking. This removes some of the 'mush-promoting' grit on the grain.
Most boxes of quinoa say to add 2 cups of water for every one cup of dry quinoa. I say that is too much! And remember if you are rinsing your quinoa you will be adding a bit more water anyways. For fluffy quinoa, less water is more. I do 1 part dry quinoa: 1 1/2 parts water ratio - then I rinse the quinoa and drain as much water as I can.
Once you close that pot lid over your cooking quinoa - no peeking! And no stirring! You don't want to disturb the quinoa fluff factory bubbling inside.
After cooking and before you lift the lid, turn OFF the stove and let the quinoa sit for a good 5-10 minutes. No peeking!
Fluff your cooked quinoa with a fork.
Recipe:
Spoon your fluffy quinoa into serving bowls. Add however much vanilla soy milk you would like. Add more for a thinner bowl and less for a thick bowl. Heat in microwave on high for about 1-2 minutes just to warm and thicken the creamy quinoa (the same way you would for oatmeal - only the quinoa is fully cooked already).
Prepare your Sticky Banana Bread Topping on your stove top.
1. Warm up a nonstick skillet. And prep your fruit and nuts.
2. Add the oil or butter – wait until sizzling hot.
3. Toss your bananas and walnuts with the sweetener, spices and vanilla. Add to hot skillet.
4. Allow to saute for about 5 minutes over med-high heat. Stir a bit so that the nuts don’t burn.
5. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Add to cereal or store in the fridge until ready to be used. The mixture will become sticky in the fridge.
Add an optional dollop of almond butter to your quinoa, some cinnamon, and then a few scoops of the warm topping. Enjoy!