Time and time again I hear people tell me they don't have time for the most important meal of the day. No more excuses! Creating a healthy breakfast is just too easy.

I know that when I eat something great in the morning, I am energized and balanced for the day both physically and emotionally. Fueling your body means fueling your brain too and sometimes we forget how important it is to ensure that our brain receives vitamins, minerals, carbs, fat and protein.

This breakfast recipe is a winner in the energy, flavour and easy-to-make-department: Apple Cinnamon Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH).

Quinoa is a recently discovered ancient, gluten-free grain that used to be called the "gold of the Incas" because it was said to increase the power and stamina of the warriors. How cool is that? You can now find it in your local grocery store in the bulk section or the health food section, usually where the rice and flour is sold.

You can purchase both red and white-looking seeds, which I like to buy in bulk and combine them - it just looks nicer on my plate. However, there is no difference between red and white in terms of nutritional content, both are truly loaded with nutritional goodness.

Find out more about quinoa and get the delicious recipe after the jump

What's to love about quinoa?

• Amino-acid rich: Non-meat source of protein that has a fluffy, nutty, slightly crunchy texture (provided you don't overcook it) and goes well with anything you combine it with as a main meal or a side dish
• Protein profile: Amazing source of protein that includes all 9 essential amino acids. Good source of lysine – important for tissue growth & repair and reducing the occurrence of the herpes virus known to bring on cold sores and mouth ulcers
• Nutrient dense: Source of manganese (for the knees), magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis
• Antioxidants: Manganese and copper are co factors for the superoxide dismutase enzyme, which is a "superman-like" antioxidant that helps to protect your cells from damage. Specifically, it protects the mitochondria from oxidative damage created during energy production. Get this, it also acts well as a guard for other cells, such as red blood cells, from injury caused by free radicals

This barely skims of the surface of the benefits of eating quinoa and I encourage you to visit the Whole Foods Database for more inspiring reasons to love quinoa.

Quinoa for breakfast

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup filtered water

Method:

Bring quinoa and water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Once fully cooked, remove from heat and rinse in warm water. This is to remove the saponins which are like soap lather in your belly if you forget to wash them away. Makes 3-4 cups of cooked quinoa.

This is where you can get creative, dressing your quinoa:

I like to scoop about one cup of cooked quinoa in a cereal bowl, cut up half an apple or pear, sprinkle about one tsp of cinnamon and a dollop of unsweetened almond milk or organic vanilla yogurt and stir together. It's great in the cold winter months to warm you up on a chilly crisp morning.

This breakfast makes me very joyous. Can you say deeelicious?! EnJOY.

Joy McCarthy, owner of Joyous Health, is a certified holistic nutritionist and health coach with a passion for inspiring people to eat well, live well and feel more joyous on a daily basis. Joy welcomes your questions or comments and although you may not receive a response, your submission will certainly be read and may be selected as a topic for a future column.