I know I’m not kidding anyone here with this Brown Rice Banana Pie Breakfast recipe. It’s not really a pie. You know how I know this? It’s way too easy to be a pie. But scoot your chair over here. Closer…because I want to tell you a secret. This may not be a pie, but it’s just as good. And better yet? You can eat this one for breakfast! Scandalous, I know!
You would think being vegan and mostly gluten-free, I would not have to worry about weight. But let me tell you a little something about me. If there’s a way to find food…the kind with calories…I’m gonna do it.
Sometimes I think I have this internal thermostat with a set-point on “needs to lose 10 pounds.” If I have a day where we play an extra hour of tennis and I’ve burned off more calories than normal, I (unconsciously) find a way to fill it up.
Calories. So hard to burn, so easy to burn through! — Namely Marly
So I’ve taken lately to keeping track of what I’m eating. It’s a good thing to do every now and then. To make it easier I downloaded a handy tool, a nutrition tracker by My Fitness Pal.
And not one to pass up on a good vegan read, I took in Kathy Freston’s latest book, The Lean: 30 Day Plan for Lasting Weight-Loss. Kathy recommends that people engaged in the battle of the bulge should begin their day with breakfast.
I have resisted this whole breakfast-eating thing like a toddler eating spinach. I don’t like it and I don’t want to do it! I’d stomp my foot for added emphasis here, but my feet are a little too tender for that. Tennis can be hard on the feet. Especially when you have a few pounds to shed.
It seems like everything you read about weight loss urges people to eat breakfast. Well, I finally decided to give up the fight and give it a try. I can understand one or two researchers getting it wrong. I mean, that’s what science is all about, right? Putting theories out there, testing it, doing more studies and producing more precise outcomes. But there doesn’t seem to be many outliers on this one.
Breakfast = good.
Skipping breakfast = not so good…at least from the perspective of your metabolism.
Another thing I like about Kathy’s book is she recommends brown rice. Lots of it.
So I came up with this little concoction for my breakfast-time meals. Brown rice with just a little bit of peanut butter and agave nectar, sliced bananas and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. Pair this with a cup of hot green tea and you will be set until lunch.
And to make it a little less breakfasty, I call it pie. Hey, I have to be tricky with my head sometimes, but it works!
Brown Rice Banana Pie Breakfast
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown rice (cooked according to directions)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 banana sliced
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
- Place the rice in a bowl. If you just pulled it out of the fridge (like me) you’ll probably want to warm it up in the microwave for 11 seconds or so.
- Add the peanut butter and stir it throughout the rice. You’re going to love the flavor of these two stirred together. Drizzle with the agave nectar. Don’t forget to keep your mouth closed so you don’t drool.
- Next, add the sliced bananas on top of the rice and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cinnamon has been shown to optimize blood sugar regulation which can be beneficial when trying to lose weight.
- Finally, take a deep breath. Maybe even count to 10 before diving in. The recent video series by HBO, Weight of the Nation demonstrates the importance of mindful eating.
All of these ingredients together amounts to about 346 calories. And if you’re following the new “fruit-free” Weight Watchers plan, the banana won’t count against your daily allotted points. Not a bad start to the day!
This is so my kind of breakfast, whole grain and banana? I’m there. This looks awesome!
June 13, 2012
8:42 am
Marly you might just make me into a brown rice eater after all with this recipe ; )
June 13, 2012
3:26 pm
I love brown rice but I’ve never thought of fixing it like this, it looks amazing!
June 13, 2012
6:28 pm
That looks so comforting Marly… I want some!
June 15, 2012
8:55 am
I do the same kind of thing but I use steel cut oats (cooked in a rice cooker) and use maple syrup instead of agave. Agave gives me headaches just like high fructose corn syrup does, but I have no problem with cane sugar or maple syrup.
I tried adding peanut butter to the mix as I was skeptical at first being on a low fat program, but I found it very delicious and more satisfying, plus on a whole grain it is healthier this way than on toast.
June 20, 2012
6:02 pm