Quinoa Blueberry, Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

Breakfast! It’s the most important meal of the day.  And definitely a favorite meal for many. Does anyone else remember back in elementary school how exciting it was when it was breakfast for lunch day in the cafeteria? French toast sticks for lunch? Heck yeah, sign me up! And now as a “grown-up” I often choose breakfast foods when I’m cooking dinner. I love the variety that comes with breakfast foods, and sometimes I just don’t want to limit those foods to the early morning hours.

So when OXO reached out about its Bowls, Bowls, All Types of Bowls campaign to create a bowl using a few OXO kitchen products, the first idea that came to mind was a breakfast bowl. I’ve spent way too long scrolling on Instagram and Pinterest drooling over some delicious looking breakfast bowls that run the gamut from savory rice and egg bowls to sweeter fresh smoothie bowls. I’ve always been a fan of oatmeal for breakfast, but I don’t like leftover oatmeal, and with my busy schedule I need to be able to make  something that I can prep in advance and just pull out of the fridge quickly for breakfast. When I prep lunches and dinners, quinoa is one of my go-to staples for a bowl base. Though I only ever experimented with quinoa as a savory lunch or dinner dish, I’ve seen some quinoa breakfast bowl recipes and knew I could cook up something delicious for breakfast.

The Salted Cookie OXO Blueberry Banana Grape Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

OXO sent me three great products to use for this recipe: a Grape & Tomato CutterRice & Grains Washing Colander, and the Adjustable Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer.

OXO_Bowls_Bowls_Bowls_CampaignOne of the reasons that I love creating recipes with OXO is that I have been a big fan of OXO products for as long as I can remember. And as they continue to innovate and introduce new products, I am excited to try my hand at them in the kitchen. When I decided on a breakfast bowl, I knew quinoa would be used as the base, so it would be easy to use the rice & grains washing colander because I always rinse quinoa before cooking it. The hardest thing with quinoa is pronouncing it correctly. Once you’ve got that down, everything else is smooth sailing (kee no no? kee na nah? oh nah nah, what’s my name?) The pain I’ve always had with quinoa before is not having the small enough strainer, so when I’m rinsing it half of the quinoa ends up in the kitchen sink. This small grain colander was perfect for the job and even has extra drain holes in the pour spout to remove excess water without draining the quinoa into the sink.

The Salted Cookie OXO Quinoa Blueberry Banana Grape Breakfast Bowl

To be honest I’m not sure I knew a grape cutter was even a thing until I discovered this little beauty. You just pop one grape in at a time and out comes a perfectly quartered grape, with your fingers still in tact. Because let’s be honest here, we all have almost sliced our fingertips off once or twice trying to cut grapes into small enough pieces for a chicken salad or fruit salad. I would normally just have a small bowl of grapes on the side with my breakfast, but with this simple fix for cutting small enough pieces I decided to incorporate them right into my breakfast bowl. The less bowls, the better!

The Salted Cookie OXO Quinoa Blueberry Banana Grape Breakfast Bowl

The mandoline slicer is one of my favorite tools to have in the kitchen. The one I have used in the past was so clunky to use with multiple blade sizes to switch out and a pain to wash that I usually skipped it and just used a knife. But this one is perfect for someone looking to simplify their kitchen appliances (and life in general). This slicer offers seven thickness options so that you can find your perfect slice with just a quick click of the side knob. Bananas as a must-have on my breakfast plate, so I decided to slice up a few for this bowl.

The Salted Cookie OXO Quinoa Blueberry Banana Grape Breakfast Bowl

And just because you can never go wrong with a little more fruit in the morning, I used my colander for double duty and threw some fresh blueberries in there to rinse and top my bowl off with.

The Salted Cookie OXO Quinoa Blueberry Banana Grape Breakfast Bowl

So when it came to pulling these ingredients together into one delicious and filling breakfast bowl, I started at the bottom (‘started from the bottom, now we here’). I cooked up the quinoa in almond milk with a dash of my favorite Vietnamese cinnamon. When that was all cooked up I added in a tablespoon of almond butter for a little extra protein and flavor. Blueberries, grapes and almond butter are reminiscent of that peanut butter and jelly flavor I grew up loving.

The Salted Cookie Quinoa Blueberry Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

The grapes took no time at all to slice up and all I did with the blueberries was rinse them quickly in the colander.

The Salted Cookie Quinoa Blueberry Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

You can just slice up a fresh banana to top the bowl off with, but I love the flavor of bananas foster. So after slicing up the two bananas on the mandoline, I throw them into a sauce pan with a little coconut oil, cinnamon and a dash of light brown sugar, and let those flavors get all happy together before adding to the breakfast bowl.

The Salted Cookie Quinoa Blueberry Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

And that’s it. This recipe makes two portions for breakfast. With the cinnamon quinoa base, you can mix up the toppings to your liking.

The Salted Cookie Quinoa Blueberry Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

The possibilities are endless – coconut, raspberries, honey, apples or even a little dark chocolate could make this quinoa bowl the perfect fit for getting your morning off on the right foot.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by OXO, but all opinions are my own.

Quinoa Blueberry Banana and Grape Breakfast Bowl

Yield: 2 Servings

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Total Time: 25 Minutes

Start your morning off with this deliciously filling quinoa bowl, packed with quinoa, almond butter, bananas, grapes and blueberries.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
Toppings
  • Blueberries
  • Grapes
  • Bananas
  • Coconut oil, optional
  • Light brown sugar, optional

Directions:

  1. Use a small-grain colander to rinse and drain the quinoa.
  2. Place the quinoa in a small saucepan. In a separate bowl whisk together the cinnamon and almond milk before adding to the saucepan to prevent clumps. Add a pinch of salt.
  3. Bring the mixture to a high simmer, cover and reduce the head to a low simmer for about 15 minutes. Make sure to monitor the quinoa while it's simmering, and stir as needed if it starts bubbling up.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat after 15 minutes and set the quinoa aside to finish absorbing the almond milk for a few additional minutes.
  5. To prepare the bananas, put a teaspoon of coconut oil into a separate pan and heat on medium-heat. Add in the bananas, a dash of cinnamon and dash of light brown sugar. Toss the bananas for 2-3 minutes until evenly coated and they just start to caramelize.
  6. Add the bananas to the top of your quinoa bowl, along with the blueberries, grapes or toppings of your choosing. Enjoy!