Do you eat veggies at breakfast? At my Junior League meeting on Monday, we were challenged to think of a breakfast for kids that included good carbs, fruit and veggies. While I don’t think it’s necessary to have fruit and veggies at breakfast, it was an interesting exercise. Between oatmeal, greek yogurt and protein pancakes, I rarely stray from my favorites. When I go out to brunch, I always get veggie egg white omelets but during the week, my morning meal lacks veggie vitamins.
I put my thinking cap on and came up with what may be an addicting new breakfast to add to my rotation.
Hot Quinoa Carrot Cake Breakfast Cereal (Serves 1, Prep Time: 15 minutes)
Carrot cake is probably my favorite cake variety. It’s hard to go wrong with cream cheese, plump raisins, cinnamon and shredded veggies. This recipe only has one serving of veggies but it accomplished the goal of the Junior league by incorporating fruit, veggies and good for you grains in one meal!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Cooked Quinoa (cook ahead of time according to directions, you only need 1/2 cup COOKED, should be about 1/4 cup of uncooked)
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
- 1/4 cup of Shredded Carrots (I shredded mini carrots mine in a food processor)
- 1 packet of NuNaturals Stevia (You can use 1 tablespoon of sugar or other sugar substitute)
- 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 wedge Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread Classic Cream 1/3 Less Fat
- optional sprinkle of walnuts or slivered almonds
Heat for about 5 minutes or until the raisins are plump. Add in the cooked quinoa, Laughing Cow wedge, cinnamon and stevia (or sugar of choice).
Stir until The Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Spread is dissolved and no longer clumpy. Top with your favorite chopped nut if you like. I used slivered almonds for a little crunch but walnuts or pecans probably would have tasted better, I just didn’t have them on hand. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this so much but it really is a keeper for me. Using quinoa you also get a good serving of protein. It’s a great alternative to regular oatmeal. You can make this recipe using quick cook oatmeal of course. The cream cheese is what really makes this recipe stand out in my opinion. The raisins and the creaminess mimics all the things that I love about real Carrot Cake!
Nutrition info coming soon…
Are you a veggie person in the morning or are you like me?
Disclaimer: I am a community leader for The Laughing Cow. I’ve been eating their products literally since I was in 4th grader, when my mother would put one of those red mini Babybels in my brown bag lunch, so when I was asked to join the team, it was an obvious YES. Read more about my TLC role here.