Teff Hot Cereal (gluten free)

Life continues to move along. We just got back from a trip to Florida. I have never been there before. We had a great time and enjoyed lots of water and sunshine. My favorite part was being with my husband. 

I continue to love having hot cereal for breakfast. It is fun to experiment and try new ones. This is a wonderful one loaded with nutrition. Look here to see some of the benefits to added Teff to your diet. This made a great breakfast. I get a wonderful satisfied feeling when I have a nice hot breakfast. It is a great way to start your day. I think I am going to make some for a snack. It is making me want some looking at the pictures. 

Here is something fun to watch to brighten up your weekend. Here cares about each one of us. 

Ingredients

1/2 C cashew milk or milk of your choosing

1 C water

1/2 T coconut oil

1 T honey or other sweetener 

1/2 C Bob's Red Mill Teff

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 C raisins optional

top with

additional milk

Directions   Serves 2

1. Put a medium saucepan pan on the stove and turn to medium heat. Pour in milk, water, oil and honey. Let it heat up a couple minutes.

2. Stir in the Teff until all combined. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins. Let the mixture come to a boil

3. Turn down the heat to medium low and cover. Let cook for 15 to 20 min. Stirring often. 

4. Pour into bowls and top with milk if desired. It warm. 

*You could make it the night before and store in an airtight container in the fridge and heat up in the morning. 

Creamy Sprouted Quinoa Milk

Did you know that you can make quinoa milk? I was fascinated to find that out. I love learning new things. It is another great non-dairy choice for you. You can decide what spices you want to add to it. I put it in my amaranth quinoa cereal today. It was a nice smooth creamy addition to it. Here is how you can make the milk too.

Ingredients

1/2 C washed quinoa 
2 C water
1 T honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
Adding spices optional*
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamon 

Directions

1. Wash the quinoa off several times. Then pour in a bowl with water and let it soak 3 to 4 hours. 
2. Drain and shake off the water,  and let sit about 8 to 10 hours in the strainer. With something to cover it with paper towel. To let it sprout. Sprouting the quinoa helps it to be a little sweeter, easier to digest, and adds nutrition. 
3. Pour the sprouted grain into the blender with water, honey, vanilla and *spices. Blend until completely smooth. 
4. I did not strain it I wanted to keep it all the nutrients from the quinoa in the drink. It blended nicely. It was nice and creamy. 
5. It will settle over time you can stir or shake it if it settles.  Store in refrigerator. It will last about 2 days. 

*The spices add a nice element of flavor. It is kind of chai milk. 

Lucky Brown Rice Pudding

Recipe Redux this month is featuring "Good Luck Foods." Does your family have a traditional food to serve New Year's Eve to bring in good luck with the new year? I like the idea of traditions, and I think they help bind a family together. I have not previously had a tradition for New Year's, but I like the idea.

Here is a fun thing to do with friends or family before the new year starts. Serve up this pudding and place an almond in the bottom of one of the dishes before you put in the pudding. Whoever finds the almond in their pudding gets good luck for the coming year!

Ingredients 
4 C cooked brown rice
3 C milk of your choice
2/3 C honey or sweetener of your choice
1 C currants or raisins (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp of cinnamon or 1 tsp freshly ground
1 tsp nutmeg or 1/2 tsp freshly grated 
1 almond
milk to drizzle on top if desired (optional)

Directions (serves 8)
1.In a saucepan place the rice, milk, And honey together. Bring to a boil on medium heat. 
2. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Until it thickens.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the currants, vanilla nutmeg, and cinnamon.
4. Put in serving dish(es) and put a "lucky almond" inside one of the dishes.
5. Garnish with additional cinnamon (optional) and drizzle on milk if desired.
6. The finder of the almond is the winner and gets luck for the new year

* Currants are smaller than raisins. I like then. Here is some information on them.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Kefir ;)

My husband was first introduced to kefir when he lived in Spain 30 years ago. He really enjoyed it there and brought some home but didn't keep it up. I had never tried it till recently. I was at a class and heard about the benefits and gave it a try and liked it.

I had been curious to get some kefir grains, but had not gotten any. I went over to a friends a couple months ago and she mentioned that she had gotten some kefir grains from a friend. She gave me some. Since then I have used it in my morning drink for my husband and myself. When I first started it, I loved the calming effect I felt as It went through my system. I know everyone's system is different--what works for one person doesn't work for everyone--but I have felt the health benefits. I am not a doctor and don't claim to be.

Kefir tastes most like plain yogurt, and has similar health benefits, only better. It's full of probiotics!

This is what kefir looks like after the 24 hour process.

This is the grains that make milk turn into kefir.

A closer look at the grains.

This is the bottles I make it in it. This is what it looks like after you pour the milk in.

I put the plastic over and the process begins.

I love to read the health benefits of kefir. Here are some I have found.

1. It is helpful for yeast infections, great for the intestines, and digestion problems.
2. I like the way I feel after drinking it.
3. I like that I can make my own. I know what's in it.
4. Kefir has also been around a long time and has a good track record.

So you can do your own research and see what you think. This was a site that had good info. The health benefits to kefir are similar and better than yogurt, according to the reports I have read. I have also cooked with it and have been happy with the results. It has been fun to have a new thing to experiment with.

Directions on How to Make Kefir:

I have about 1 T of kefir grain to 1 C of milk. I use whole milk. (I know some people use goat milk or raw milk. It will not work as well with low fat milk.) So It is about 4 T of grain to 4 C of milk in my glass quart jar.

1. Get a clean quart jar put in about 4 T of kefir grain. Pour in 4 C of whole milk.

2. Cover the jar with plastic. Seal the plastic and poke some holes into the plastic, to let some air into it.

3. Then I place it in my cupboard away from the light. Let it sit for 24 hours.

4. I then pour the kefir mixture into either a glass or plastic bowl and scoop out the grains with a slotted spoon. You could also use a plastic colander. The recommendations I have seen have said no metal.

5. I then put the grain back into the jar and start the process over again. (Wash the bottles every couple times.) Any kefir I don't use will store up to 3 weeks in the fridge. You can keep it in the fridge in milk for a little while, but then you have to wake it up again when you want to make more. I have not done this yet.

Kefir Fruit Smoothie
Serves 2

3 1/2 C kefir
1 C frozen blueberries
3 T protein powder
1 1/2 frozen banana
4 T flax and chia and oatmeal
1 1/2 C spinach (I sometimes use spinach I have frozen)

Blend it all up and enjoy. I do different variations. It does help to put frozen foods in it to get it cold, or the mixture will be warm. You can have fun with it. You can buy it from the store to try it out. Give it a try. :)