Be Veg :Quick Savory vegan breakfast,Grits and Pigeon Peas

I love my smoothies, oatmeal and fruit bowls but sometimes I just want something quick, warm and savory in the morning...the key word here is quick. I was really hungry and rushing when I made this so I didn't measure most of the seasonings I used, I just seasoned to taste. 

 In this recipe I used the following:

Grits
1/2 cup Quaker quick 5 minute grits
2 cups water
 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
 1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of sea salt


Pigeon Peas 
1 can of green pigeon peas, drained 3/4 of the liquid
 1/2 can of unsalted diced tomato, undrained
 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
 1/2 large shallot, diced
 2 tbsp of McCormick Bac'n pieces
 2 tbsp liquid aminos
1 tbsp olive oil
 red pepper flakes
 cumin
 garlic powder
 onion powder
 black pepper
 
 
 

For the grits: I mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl and I popped it in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes. Stir and set aside. You can always prepare the grits on the stove top if you prefer.

For the peas: I heated up the olive oil and then added in the shallots, bell pepper and a few dashes of red pepper flakes. Once the shallots and bell pepper were soft and beginning to caramelize I added in the liquid aminos and bac'n pieces. Once the bac'n pieces started to absorb the liquid I added in the tomatoes and pigeon peas with the remaining 1/4 of liquid from the can. After that I added in the remainder of the seasonings, roughly about 1/2 tsp-1 tsp of the cumin, onion and garlic powder and a few dashes of the black pepper. Let simmer and stir occasionally until cooked through.

Top the pigeon peas on the grits and enjoy :-D

A few notes:
This meal took me about 10-15 minutes to prepare, to include dicing the veggies.
The standard single serving for grits according to the package instructions is 1/4 cup of dry grits. I intentionally doubled the amount to increase my caloric intake.
I only ate half of the peas and it makes for great leftovers!...the peas would also go well with rice or potatoes as an option for lunch/dinner.
~You can make this meal oil free by sauteing veggies in the liquid aminos instead of oil.~

For those that like seeing the numbers, here's the approximate macro breakdown:

Grits double serving
Total Calories: 280kcal
Carbohydrates: 60g
Protein: 9g
Fat: 0.1

Pigeon Peas with olive oil
Total Calories: 330kcal
Carbohydrates: 55g
Protein: 19.5g
Fat: 16g


I ate all of the grits plus half of pea mixture; here is the breakdown: 
what I actually consumed.
Total Meal: 445kcal
Total Carbs: 87.5g
Total Protein: 18.75g
Total Fat: 8.1g



~Low fat alternative~ 
Pigeon Peas oil free
Total Calories: 210kcal
Carbohydrates: 55g
Protein: 19.5g
Fat: 2g




Let me know if you give this a try. I hope you enjoy this quick and delicious meal.

~Be Veg. Get Fit. Live Well.~
Jessica Ivory Sutton