Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Breakfast Bowl

I have long been intrigued by the quinoa breakfast bowl recipes I have seen on Pinterest, but considering I have been trying to lower the amount of grains in my diet, I never got around to trying one out. As of late, I’ve been guilty of eating more than I should when it comes to quinoa, millet, buckwheat, etc., so I decided to back off a bit and revert to my standard diet of mainly fruit, veggies and the occasional lean meat for dinner.

While I do love a hearty breakfast, I feel so weighed down after a bowl of oatmeal that I almost feel as if I could get back in bed. Obviously, this is not a great way to start the day, so it’s a rare occasion where I’ll have grains for breakfast, but I can’t say that I don’t miss the comfort you get from a bowl of oatmeal.

I wanted to find a way to get my hearty breakfast fix that wouldn’t slow me down, but initially, this was a seemingly impossible feat. I mean, how can you get a heartiness similar to oatmeal without using some kind of grain? I won’t lie and pretend as if the idea came to me easily, but after some real trial and error in the kitchen, I think I have achieved one awesome, paleo-approved recipe that you can’t knock until you try.

I’ll tell you right now that when I tell you what’s in this breakfast bowl, you’ll scrunch up your nose and think I have lost my mind, but rest assured! I tested this on the pickiest person I know when it comes to trying new recipes (my sweet, cautious, food-testing fiance, Ben), and he gave this recipe a thumbs up, followed with an “okay, now tell me what’s actually in it.” I swear, he always asks this as if I have just tricked him into eating something truly repulsive, but c’mon, I’m not that mean.

So what’s in this grain-free, paleo-approved cinnamon coconut breakfast bowl, you ask? If you guessed cauliflower, you would be correct, but I’d be willing to bet that unless you’re a regular visitor to my blog, cauliflower wasn’t the first thing to come to mind. Now, if you’re asking yourself “how in the world could cauliflower ever be good for breakfast?!” I get it. Many people have a love/hate relationship with this notoriously bland vegetable, but I can tell you as a former skeptic that it is time to start believing the hype! Cauliflower is the ‘it’ vegetable right now for a damn good reason, and that reason directly involves the very blandness that people find so polarizing. Cauliflower makes it easy to sneak vegetables onto picky eaters plates, as it can take on virtually any flavor combination, be it sweet, savory, or even spicy, without missing a beat. Just check out this, this or this for proof.

Simply pulse 1 large head or 1 32-ounce bag of cauliflower florets in your blender or food processor until cauliflower takes on a texture similar to rice..

To make this Paleo Cinnamon Coconut Breakfast Bowl, this dish combines apple chunks sauteed in extra virgin coconut oil, and cauliflower ‘rice’ simmered in lite coconut milk, seasoned with cinnamon and cardamom. To make this dish complete, cauliflower rice is mixed with unsweetened, finely shredded coconut, crushed raw walnuts and chopped dates studded throughout. The dates are a must by the way! They add the perfect natural sweetness that makes this dish so good.

 This recipe makes 4 servings, coming in at 300 calories per cup. Eat warm or at room temperature, plain or topped with a little all-natural 100% pure maple syrup.