Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Breakfast Bafflement

So, the dilemma: what to serve for breakfast. Oh, it has to meet the usual criteria. Namely it must be healthy and somewhat fast, as I don't want to get up two hours earlier than normal to prepare it. It needs to have staying power so we are not hungry again in an hour. And it must be free of dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, nuts, and beef. Just eliminating all the usual suspects. Breakfast recipes without eggs or milk or wheat? Very rare. Oatmeal is a great fill in! Except that the eldest has decided she hates it. Has anyone tried to explain to a child with food allergies that pickiness is not an option? Somehow, that doesn't work at my house. So, rather than start the day with a battle over breakfast, I am questing for variety that will satisfy the tastes of our whole family. Yikes.

I am determined to create a breakfast casserole that is based on creamy rice and chicken apple sausage. I don't know why, it just seems like it should work. Hmmm...except the middle child hates rice in any form. That's alright, if the eldest has to choke down oatmeal on occasion, she can do the same with rice.

So far, I have discovered that cooking the rice in half apple juice and half water gives it a nice flavor. No creaminess though. Tonight I added one chopped apple for the last five minutes of cooking, and it was wonderfully breakfastly sweet. Not quite there yet though.

So, if anyone can share a favorite breakfast idea, or can tweak my beginning of an idea, I'd love to hear from you!

3 comments:

  1. Hi!

    Here's a recipe I have for creamy rice:

    Cream of Brown Rice
    Makes 3-4 servings

    Canola Oil 1tsp
    Brown rice 1 cup
    Water 2 cups
    Sea Salt to taste 1 tsp

    1) Heat canola oil in a frying pan
    2) Add brown rice and sauté a few minutes, stirring to ensure all grains are coated in oil
    3) Put the rice into a blender and grind at high speed
    4) Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan
    5) Add the rice and sea salt. Bring to a boil
    6) Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the rice thickens, approx. 30 minutes
    7) Stir frequently

    You could do step 1-3 with part of the rice (1/2?). Then cook the the combo of ground rice and normal rice like you have been. This would probably add some creaminess.
    I'd imagine you could do steps 1-3 in a bigger batch on the weekend and refrigerate it to use in the mornings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry for the double post, but I just thought of perhaps some other ideas. The smoothie might be better for another time of the day...

    Millet Porridge
    Makes 3-4 servings

    Whole-grain millet ½ cup
    Water 1 cup
    Sea salt

    1) Soak millet overnight in water
    2) In the morning add salt and cook for 20 minutes on the top of a double boiler. The mixture will be thick but can be thinned with more water
    3) Serve with fruit

    For a double boiler just use a metal bowl onto of a pot with an inch or so of water in it. Have the bowl not touch the water.



    Banana Berry Smoothie:
    Yield: 4 servings

    Ripe medium banana, peeled & sliced 1
    Orange juice 1 ¼ cup
    Frozen blueberries or raspberries 1 cup
    Silken tofu ½ cup
    Sugar 1 tbsp (or to taste)
    Ice cubes 2

    1) In a blender combine all ingredients until frothy and smooth

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heh,
    I just finished reading more of your blog and realized there's a soy allergy too- sorry!

    ReplyDelete

Always happy to hear from you, but please remember to play nice!