What’s for Breakfast?! Banana “Caramel” Quinoa Bake

Happy Friday everyone!!! This week, I’ve decided to hit you with another breakfast recipe.  I tend to eat green smoothies most mornings so when I have time, I like to whip up a breakfast bake so I can just heat it up in the mornings. Eazy peazy.  Now, I know what you’re thinking “Quinoa for breakfast?! Girl, you crazy!” But hear me out people.  With the banana and dates, this is a naturally sweet breakfast and a nice alternative to boring oatmeal (sorry oatmeal, I still love you!) It also makes a fabulous Sunday brunch.  So let’s hop to it…

Serves 6

For the Quinoa:
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
8-10 drops liquid stevia or 1-2 packets of powder stevia

For the Bake:
2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
6-8 drop of liquid stevia or 1 packet of powder stevia

For the “Caramel” Sauce:
1/2 cup of dates (about 6 dates)
2 Tbsp cashews (about 1 oz.)
1/2 cup water

Note:  If you do not like stevia, you may substitute with any type of liquid sweetener such as  coconut nectar, honey, maple syrup or agave.  1 Tbsp would suffice for 6-8 drops of stevia.

Prepare your quinoa.  Add almond milk to a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Add quinoa, vanilla and stevia and reduce heat. Please note: almond milk tends to boil over quite easy, so to avoid a mess on your stove ,keep the heat low and keep an eye on it!  Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with coconut or olive oil.  In a medium bowl, add bananas and mash with a fork.  Add eggs, almond milk, cinnamon and stevia.  Mix well.  Stir in the quinoa.  Pour into the baking dishFor the “caramel” sauce add the dates, cashews and water to a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.  Dollop the sauce on top and swirl with a knife.Bake for about 30 minutes until the eggs are set.  Let cool and enjoy!Nutritional info per serving
255 Calories, 43g Carbs, 8g Protein, 6g Fat, 15g Sugar

Please Note:  Nutritional info is gathered from MyFitnessPal and may vary depending on your ingredients.  Therefore, it is not always 100% accurate and meant to be used as a reference only.