Oat Alternatives

I went through a phase about 4 years ago where I ate oatmeal every single morning for breakfast. I cooked it on the stove each morning before work and topped it with banana and peanut butter. It kept me full for hours and I never grew tired of it. Except eventually I did. Or, you know, I became a Mom and no longer had free time in the morning to stir oats on the stove.

Since then I have added a bit more variety to my morning meal. Sometimes it's toast and peanut butter, other times I fry up an egg or cook waffles. Whatever is easy.

Lately I've been experimenting with oatmeal again, and while I like its satiety factor, it just seems a little......boring. So this past week I have been playing around with other grains (seeds?) for breakfast. I actually cooked both of these breakfasts the night before and then reheated in the morning. It pays to be productive while the kids are sleeping!

A friend from my MOPS group shared this recipe for rice pudding with me. I changed a few ingredients but kept it pretty close to the original.

Breakfast Rice Pudding

4-6 servings

1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can (15oz) peach halves, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup butter, melted

-Cook rice. In a large bowl combine the rice, peaches, blueberries, coconut milk and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Transfer to a greased baking dish.
-Combine the coconut, almonds, butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle over rice.
-Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.


While delicious, this wasn't necessarily the most healthy or filling breakfast. The added sugar and basic white rice resulted in my tummy growling by 10am. I may try it again with brown rice and a sugar substitute such as maple syrup or more fresh fruit.

After making the rice pudding I was left with half a can of coconut milk to use. A quick google search resulted in this recipe using quinoa. I immediately knew I wanted to try it since I love finding new uses for quinoa. (and coconut milk). So I made this at 10pm last night and ate it this morning.

Coconut Breakfast Quinoa

2 servings

1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
1 cup lite coconut milk, divided
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 banana
1/3 chopped almonds

-Combine quinoa, 3/4 cup coconut milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
-Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes until quinoa can be fluffed with a fork.
-Serve in a bowl covered with half banana and almonds, and drizzled with remaining coconut milk.

The verdict? I liked this one better as a breakfast because of the protein and nutritional benefits of the quinoa. It wasn't very sweet but more fruit would help with that. And it kept me full most of the morning!

What fun breakfasts have you tried lately?