I think I’m staring to come out of this nasty flu that’s taken a hold of me. It’s now moved from all-body to chest + head/sinus. No fun at all! Sunday, I actually made it out of the house. I felt like crap, but seriously had to get out. The last time I was out was Wednesday. INsane! Where did we go? Obviously the grocery store.

I haven’t had anything too crazy to eat lately, but have been trying to pack in as many fruits and veggies as possible. It’s always harder to get in the veggies when you’re sick. The thought of eating salad makes me want to gag. Kale chips + steamed broccoli have been much more appealing! I’ve been downing smoothies and trying to get in a lot of healthy fats + protein, since my appetite has dwindled a bit.

I loved reading all of your breakfast guesses from yesterday! A few of you nailed it with certainty. It was indeed, cream of buckwheat. I ground the groats in my blender, which is why they were so creamy. I saw a small box of this at the store and it was really overpriced. I knew I could just grind the groats at home, which were already in my cupboard. It was tasty and a nice change of pace, but definitely seems like a grain that would better suite savory than sweet. I’ll give it another go soon though!

Kath has an awesome granola recipe that uses buckwheat. I know Gena has a quick raw cereal recipe and buckwheat chai energy bars that use it too! Gena’s cereal post is also loaded with fabulous information on buckwheat. Definitely worth checking out!

Moving on….

Sunday’s breakfast was leftover brown rice “pudding.” This, was to die for. I made a big batch of brown rice “pudding” Saturday night and reheated it with more milk on Sunday for breakfast. I absolutely love the chew from brown rice and I packed this recipe with a lot of vanilla and a hint of coconut. I’ve never made real rice pudding, and I know that this is not it. But, it’s close enough and extremely tasty!!

Vanilla Bean Brown Rice [serves 3-4] inspired by my own boredom

1c short grain brown rice
1c water
1.5c unsweetened coconut milk [or 1c of low fat from a can]
1T unrefined coconut oil
2t vanilla bean paste [or vanilla extract]
1/2t cinnamon
1T maple syrup

Add all ingredients to a large pot and stir 2-3 time to combine.
Bring to a low boil, stir once and cover.
Reduce heat to simmer and set your timer for 50min.
Turn off burner, and remove pan from heat.
Let sit 5min.
Fluff with fork and serve or refrigerate.

A few things to note…

I made a large batch of this, so it would be a quick reheat in the morning. This is not something I would make in the morning. You can definitely double it to last you the whole wheat.
If you don’t like coconut flavor, sub another high heat oil like Safflower.
You can use any other non-dairy milk instead of coconut milk, although coconut milk is thicker and will leave a creamier consistency.
If you want to bring the sweetness out more, add a pinch of salt.