Breakfast, you're fired!

My breakfast can be kind of lazy. I mean, I do all the work. I boil the water, measure the oats, chop the fruit...and then I do all the eating and digesting! What does my breakfast do? It just kinda sits there. Well, breakfast, times are tough and we've got to make some changes around here so we're gonna have to let you go. Time to bring in a morning meal that works a little harder so I don't have to.

I think I've found a perfect candidate. I'll still be eating a mixture of whole grains each morning, like oats, millet, amaranth and quinoa. But things are gonna be different around here:

1. My new breakfast grains have overnight hours.
Here's something I didn't know until recently: whole grains like brown rice and oats contain phytic acid as a natural part of the grain's bran. Phytic acid gets cozy with minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract. Boooooo

2. My new breakfast grains do more of my work.
When I saw Sally Fallon speak last weekend she talked a lot about how to aid digestion in the preparation of food. Her suggestion was to add a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to the soaking water of oats. In a sort of pre-digestion process, the oats start to break down and are later easier to digest. This means my body does less work and I have more energy. See this is what I mean by my breakfast doing some work around here!

3. My new breakfast grains get creative.
Fruit and raisins are good. But I've been thinking of ways to diversify for the sake of my tastebuds and nutrient intake. Try this: shred a few carrots into your grains about halfway through cooking time. Carrots are naturally sweet and work well with a few raisins and pecans. Breakfast comes out tasting like a carrot cake!

Hard Working Breakfast Grains
Serves 1
1/3 cup mixed whole grains (try oats, millet, amaranth or quinoa)
1 cup water
splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Optional mix-ins: raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, shredded carrots, chopped fruit, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, maybe a tablespoon of ghee if you're feeling decadent

Soak grains overnight in a bowl with a vinegar or lemon juice. In the morning, strain and combine with water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes. Halfway through cooking time, add your choice of mix-ins.

You might notice that your oats/grains taste lighter and more fluffy than usual. I thought that even without fruit they tasted sweeter.

What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Also, I'd like to promote a great idea for a blogger cookbook from Foods That Fit. I'm going to contribute and you should too!