My favorite Peruvian breakfast: Andean super-grain porridge and tropical green smoothie

Greetings from the Sacred Valley of Peru!

Oh how I love the food of Peru!  Whole, nutritious, hearty fare. I spend quite a lot of time in the markets and in my kitchen when I'm down here each year.  In today’s blog, I invite you to check out my best Peruvian breakfast:

Andean super-grains porridge and tropical green smoothie

Andean super-grains porridge:
This is a recipe I adapted after enjoying the delicious quinoa porridge served at the Pisac Inn.  My own version of the porridge has quinoa, amaranth (known here as kiwicha), chia seeds, flaxseed meal, and maca. Quinoa and amaranth are higher in protein than most grains. Chia seeds are delicious, nutritious and assist with good digestion, as does flax seed meal.  Maca powder, made from ground maca root (an Andean tuber) is helpful for both men and women’s hormonal levels as well as energy.

Ingredients:
½ cup quinoa
½ cup oats
¼ cup chia seeds
¼ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup maca powder
4 cups water (or part water, part milk of choice)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
 
In medium saucepan, add quinoa and chia seeds to 4 cups water.  Add salt and bring to boil.  Boil for 10 minutes and stir in oats and flaxseed meal.  Boil and stir for another 5 minutes.  Add maca powder and cinnamon and stir a few more minutes over the heat.  Serve with butter or coconut oil, more milk of choice and sweetener of choice (I prefer raw honey.) 
 
Peruvian Tropical Green Smoothie
This is the smoothie I make almost every morning in Peru.  Although I live in the high Andes, the Amazon basin is not far away and the markets always sell delicious and fresh fruit from the lowland areas.  Papaya is one of my favorite fruits!  I always add ginger to my smoothies to promote great digestion and turmeric root or powder because turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory root/spice.

Ingredients:
I slice of papaya
1 slice of pineapple
1 small banana
One orange or mandarin (whole or juiced)
½ inch piece of ginger root
Small slice of turmeric root
Handful of greens (spinach, kale, whatever you like or 1 T of greens powder)
3/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients in blender.  Enjoy!