As the mornings get chillier, breakfast ’round these here parts keep getting warmer.  Exhibit A: Millet.  Note the heavenly glow.  It’s a godsend on cold days.

Millet is a filling whole grain, high in magnesium and niacin for a healthy heart and improved cholesterol levels.  It cooks reasonably quickly, it’s easily digestible, and it’s generally safe for people who have a lot of allergies or reactions to food.  It’s also a happy sunny color.  I like it.

This is one of my on-the-fly recipes, which means I made it up this morning while peering into cupboards to see what we had.  Although I have a nice, long shelf groaning under the weight of a plethora of cookbooks, I have figured out over the years that, overall, recipes aren’t as important as being comfortable in the kitchen and knowing a couple things about nutrition.

Yup.  I can tell you this because I’m not planning on publishing a cookbook.  I’m more interested in getting more people comfy with food and cooking.  To that end, I’m giving you a front-row seat today into the workings of my noggin.  Pull up a chair.  Can I get you some spiced cider?

This morning, I knew I wanted to make millet.  That gives me a whole grain with fiber and other good stuff, described above.  For me, millet needs to be dressed up a bit, as it isn’t very flavorful on its own.  I generally like to add some fresh produce, as it gives me other good vitamins and minerals.  Plus, adding high-nutrient, low-calorie produce  (as the vast majority of fruits and veggies are) helps make my tummy extra full and happy without contributing a truckload of unnecessary calories.  I picked apples.  This was in part because it’s fall and apples sound delicious and in part because they would help contribute both sweetness and bulk to the millet breakfast and cut the sugars I would normally add.  Mostly, it was because I had these great Arizona-grown Pink Lady apples in the fridge that I was looking for any excuse to eat.

So far, I had two carbohydrates in my breakfast.  This does not a balanced breakfast make.  I needed some protein and some fat (to be nutritionally more balanced, to keep my blood sugar steady, and to make sure I didn’t get hungry again right away), so I decided to include some milk (protein) to the cooking liquid and to garnish it with toasted walnuts, fresh-ground flax seed, and a bit of flax oil (healthy fats and protein).  Flax seeds and flax oil are both excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential fatty acid (one the body cannot produce). Omega 3s are a key in the anti-inflammatory diets getting so much press in recent years as research indicates such diets can prevent or relieve problems such as cardiovascular disease, joint pain, Type II diabetes, allergies, and many other chronic diseases.

By the way, let’s talk about flax for a minute.  Flax oil is pretty fragile, so it’s important to keep both your flax oil and your flax seeds in the fridge.  Likewise, although you can buy ground flax, it’s better to grind your flax seeds just before using, as the ground seeds can oxidize and go rancid much more easily.  I have a little coffee grinder I use just for this purpose.  Finally, although whole flax seeds are appearing in breads and crackers more and more these days, flax seeds really need to be ground to improve digestibility and allow your body to get the benefit from them.

And that’s it.  I had carbohydrates, fiber, fresh produce, healthy fats, and protein.  All I had to do now was cook it up and make it tasty.  This is the part where the individual cook gets creative.  Check out the recipe below and give it a whirl.

I loved this.  The walnuts and flax gave an excellent nuttiness to the dish, and the apples and raisins eliminated the need for additional sweeteners, though a touch of maple is always nice.

For those of who you don’t think you can do a half hour of cooking in the morning, try to work it around your morning routine.  For example, you might soak the millet in the water overnight so it cooks up faster.  Another option is to start the millet cooking first thing in the morning, then shower, then go add the apples, then get dressed, then check on the millet, etc., allowing it to cook while you do small tasks to get ready so that it’s done when you’re ready to eat.  This is one I do a lot, but it does take some practice.  However, the benefits of eating a real, nutritional breakfast are great for both your frame of mind and your health.

Verdict: Totally worth it.