Recipe: Figgy Cream of Rice Hot Cereal

With the cleanse, I was avoiding gluten, dairy, nuts & sweeteners, and so this type of breakfast was my staple: good thing it's so delicious. The figs in this recipe, especially because they're blended into the cereal, give it a well distributed sweet taste, and the sunflower seeds add protein to the easy gluten-free rice cereal. You can see above that I made this for two, me & my man (who's not cleansing), and he loved it, so don't feel like you need to eat alone while cleansing! You can make this with any other dried fruit just the same. I also recommend using dried apricots, raisins and dates. Come winter time, add some fresh banana and almonds.

rice cereal 

chopped dried figs

cinnamon

cardamom

sunflower seeds

rice milk

Cook the rice cereal with the chopped dried figs and spices: add water, bring to boil, simmer while stirring occasionally, and then remove from heat. Allow the cereal to sit for a minute or two to cool slightly. Then blend in mini-cuisinart (see mine below) or with a hand blender which would be easiest. Scoop out into bowls. Toast sunflower seeds in a pot or pan over medium heat stirring often or tossing around so they don't burn. Top cereal with seeds and a splash of rice milk. Yum... Remember to savor each bite as this is easy to want to eat up quickly.

• Vata & Pitta: great!
• Kapha: Substitute quinoa for rice. Top with chopped dried figs rather than cooking them. We want to emphasize the dry nature of the figs in the dish.