A recipe with a sweet history

This recipe was first featured on Sarah Wilson‘s Tuesday Eats blog on 22 February 2011 as part of her popular sugar-free breakfast series. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my approach to nourishing, wholefood cooking with a wider audience.

At the time, Sarah wrote:

“How’s this. I post about how tough it is to eat breakfast when you’re on this sugar-free challenge. And hello! I’m emailed this ripper recipe. Randomly.”

Back then I was travelling extensively as a therapeutic chef, creating wellness-focused cuisine for luxury resorts and destination spas around the world. This breakfast became known as my “Emperor’s breakfast”—a wholesome, satisfying way to start the day.

When Sarah asked me to share a few of my healthy cooking principles, this is what I said:

• I prefer to cook with minimally processed, whole foods and limit highly refined ingredients such as white flour and added sugars wherever possible.
• I use quality fats, including extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and other minimally refined oils, choosing the most appropriate fat for the cooking method.
• I cook gently whenever possible, as excessive heat can reduce the nutritional quality of some foods.
• One of my simplest tips is to support your local farmers’ market and choose fresh, seasonal produce over heavily processed packaged foods.

Fifteen years later, those principles still underpin my approach to food as medicine. While nutritional science continues to evolve, my philosophy remains the same: cook from scratch, choose quality ingredients, eat seasonally and enjoy food that nourishes both body and mind.

Originally published in 2011 and updated in June 2026 with refreshed image, improved notes and current nutritional information.

Red quinoa with goji berries, macadamias and vanilla

Recipe by Samantha Gowing

Start your day with this nourishing red quinoa breakfast, gently flavoured with vanilla and topped with sweet goji berries and crunchy Australian macadamias. Naturally gluten-free and rich in plant protein, fibre and healthy fats, it’s a wholesome breakfast that’s easy to prepare ahead for busy mornings.

---

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1/2x1x2x3x

1 cup red quinoa (white is fine too…remember to rinse well) 2 cups water 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped, or almonds 1/4 cup goji berries (which contain sugar…but not so much) 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped 2 teaspoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon ground ginger Pinch cinnamon 1/2 lime, juice only Yoghurt for serving if desired

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water until boiling. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Transfer cooked quinoa to a mixing bowl, add goji berries, macadamia nuts, vanilla seeds, chia, ginger and cinnamon.
3. Spoon into serving bowls, add a squeeze of lime and your favourite yoghurt.

Notes

Quinoa cooking tip: If all the water has not been absorbed, cover pot with a tea towel then place lid on top. The remaining moisture will dry, leaving lovely, fluffy quinoa.

---