The weather has suddenly turned a little cooler here, and I am immediately craving a cooked breakfast. Enter quinoa porridge. Nuttier than it’s oat based counterpart, quinoa comes with an impressive list of nutritional benefits, which I have talked about here and here. Packed with protein, loaded with minerals, easy on the digestion, awesome!

Couple this with chamomile, a herb well known for its digestive benefits. It is soothing and calming to the digestive tract, helps relieve cramps, spasm or bloating, has a gentle action towards improving digestive function, and is also calming and nourishing to the nervous system – bonus! In practice it is a herb that I use a lot, but it can be just as effective made as a strong infusion (tea). It is also completely edible, and I like to add chamomile ‘dust’ regularly to my breakfast. (NB. Chamomile ‘dust’ is my name for the powdery leftovers at the bottom of a bag of chamomile flowers. Most chamomile tea bags contain mainly ‘dust’, so feel free to rip one open and scatter away.)

Ordinarily you would use water to cook a savoury quinoa, or milk for a sweeter or breakfast quinoa, so why not infuse your quinoa with herbs!? In this case I have used chamomile, but the world is your oyster – I was close to doing a rosehip version. I have also used coconut milk and spices in the mix, and what you are left with is a delicious, slightly nutty breakfast ready to be topped with your favourite additions. For extra tummy love I have topped with a good dose of chia seeds, which along with their spectacular nutritional profile, are a fabulous form of soluble fibre, which helps you to feel fuller for longer, soothes the digestive mucosa and works to …