Fall is Coming: Pumpkin Farina

I forget sometimes that pumpkin is a vegetable. It has such a creamy taste to it, and so often gets sweetened and used like a dessert. But low and behold, half a cup of plain pumpkin puree is low in calories (about 45 calories) and fat, and contains a hefty amount of vitamin A and potassium.

So let’s get on the vegetable-for-breakfast bandwagon and cook up some Pumpkin Farina!

Are you familiar with Farina? Some people call it Malt-O-Meal because that is one of the name brands, but it is basically the same thing as Cream of Wheat. You could definitely swap regular oats or steel cut oats (or millet, or quinoa, or couscous, or amaranth, or bulgar…) if you prefer those, I just chose to use Farina this morning.

The exciting thing about Farina is that, like regular old-fashioned oats, it only takes about 5 minutes to cook!

Plain pumpkin puree gets swirled into the nearly cooked cereal grain. Without any seasoning, plain pumpkin puree tastes a little too…plain. To bring out the fall flavors, throw in some spices–I used cinnamon, but feel free to add nutmeg, ginger, cloves…–and a nice dash of maple syrup and vanilla extract. I also stirred in a little spoon of ground flaxseed to boost the healthy fats.

If you use a non-dairy milk, boom, vegan breakfast.

Toppings can be endless. This morning I used a dried fig sliced in half and a little sprinkle of coconut chips.

Warm milk, soft cereal grains, and smooth pumpkin make for a breakfast that tastes like dessert, but packs in a lot more nutrition.

Sayonara summer. Fall is coming.

Pumpkin Farina

adapted from Healthy.Happy.Life

makes 2 big bowls

**NOTE: If you use a different cereal grain, check to make sure you use the correct ratio of grain to liquid. 

1 1/2 cups of water

1/2 cup milk (use a non-dairy milk to make this vegan)

1/3 cup Farina or Cream of Wheat

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

additional milk for topping

garnish: dash of cinnamon, dried or fresh fruit, coconut chips

Directions:

1. Bring water and milk (2 cups total) to a boil. Add salt and farina. Constantly stir gently. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.

2. Continue stirring until the cereal thickens. At this point you can stir in the cinnamon, flaxseed, vanilla, and maple syrup. If you desire a thinner cereal, add in additional milk.

3. When cereal has cooked into a thick consistency (like thick applesauce) turn the heat to low.

4. Stir in the pumpkin over low heat.

5. Turn off heat and spoon cereal into bowls. Add a dash of cinnamon and a splash of milk on top. Top with dried or fresh fruit and a sprinkle of coconut chips.

Tags: breakfast, fall, farina, fig, healthy, oatmeal, pumpkin