Until I moved to Houston, I had never been to New Orleans. Hard to believe, I know. Such a fabulous city and I’m completely in love with it now. The people are probably the friendliest in the entire country and the food is beyond compare. Going to New Orleans as a vegan can be a challenge, but certainly not impossible. I was inspired by the city’s most famous dessert, to make this super satisfying, yummy vegan breakfast porridge.

To start, I made a batch of quinoa, which is a wonderful gluten-free grain that is a breeze to make. Just pick up a package, any kind, white, red, black, and follow the instructions. This can be done in advance, the night before is ideal. I used the tri-color quinoa from Trader Joe’s.

 

Then I blended together almond milk, banana, a date, cinnamon, vanilla and Maca powder, to make a thick sauce, kind of like a smoothie. I combined the quinoa and the almond milk mixture and warmed it up in the microwave. If microwaves freak you out, and I get that, just warm it on the stovetop on medium heat for a few minutes.

Then I topped the porridge with diced bananas, pecan pieces and coconut flakes. You could really put anything you want on top at this point. I like adding texture, so I would do some kind of fruit and nut combination. Mangoes and almond slices would be great.

Once everything is mixed together, you can decide if you want to add a little more almond milk to thin it out or add some honey or agave to sweeten it up. It’s actually plenty sweet for me with the date and banana.

Bananas Foster Quinoa Porridge

Serves 1

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked

1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened

1 banana, divided

1 medjool date, pitted

1 tsp Maca powder (optional)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp pecan pieces

1/2 Tbsp coconut flakes

Put quinoa in a microwave safe bowl.

Add almond milk, 1/2 banana, date, Maca powder, vanilla, and cinnamon to blender and blend on high until mixture thickens and date is fully incorporated.

Combine almond mixture and quinoa and heat in microwave for about 1 minute.

Dice the remaining banana.

Top porridge with diced banana, pecans and coconut flakes.

Thank me later. 🙂