My Breakfast

I stole this breakfast idea from my sister in-law, Heather. I really like it. In fact, I miss it if I don't have it. I've been eating it almost every morning for the past almost 2 months and it is: millet, flax seed, nuts & banana. Millet is a small, round, yellowish grain. If you leave it whole, it cooks up like rice. You cook it with the same proportions of grain to water as you would rice. I took Heather's advice and bought a coffee grinder. So, I sometimes grind it and then it cooks like a porridge. Think "Cream of Wheat" consistency. It also take less time if you prepare it this way. When you leave the grain whole, it does take longer but no longer than cooking rice I suppose. I also lightly grind up the flax seed. I like the crunch when it's not ground into a powder. I love walnuts or pecans on top also. I buy them shelled & whole and then crush them with my fingers when I put them on top. I also like to pour vanilla flavored soy milk into it and for some of you out there saying ewwww, it's not bad. I lived off the stuff for years when I was a vegetarian. I guess I've never really drank it like milk, just on things, but I survived. I like to drizzle honey over this, not very much. I would say about a tablespoon. I will then slice up a banana on top. I also like to have it sometimes with dried cranberries or dried apricots. It's a great high fiber, high protein, slow release of energy breakfast. You can buy the grain and flax seed at Whole Foods Market. I haven't had any luck finding it in other grocery stores. It's only about &1.50 a pound and you find it in the bulk bins. I bought 2 lbs. 2 months ago and I just ran out yesterday. Another good grain I recommend is quinoa. It's a South American grain similar in looks to millet. It also cooks up the same way. Be brave people and try these things.

I also stole Heather's recipe for hummus. I forgot that I used to love the stuff. I eat it almost everyday also. I don't make it from bean flour because I don't have a grain mill. I use canned chickpeas and I like it just as much. I've changed the recipe slightly.

1 can chickpeas, partially drained
1/2 can of chickpeas totally drained
1 tablespoon of cumin
juice of 1 small lemon or half of one large lemon
1/4 cup tahini (this is just ground sesame seed and I use my coffee grinder to do it. I've found the seeds in the Mexican aisle with the spices. One bag is enough for this recipe.)
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper to taste (I go light on the salt because I use canned chickpeas and they already contain some, but I would say about 1/2 tsp. of pepper.)
olive oil

Grind the sesame seeds. Place everything in a food processor and process away. Once things start to get smooth, I start to pour in the olive oil. I would say I add a 1/4 of a cup at the most. I just pour until it all comes together and gets really smooth. You can use this in place of creamy, more fattening dips. I use it instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches. I really like it with celery and celery is a great slow release, high fiber food.

When I eat like this, I find that I want to snack less during the day. I feel more satisfied. If I have a snack, it's usually an apple and again, it's a slow release, high fiber food.