Figtastic Bananza

Punning: It's a Disease.

Good news first: I have been seeing very positive effects from being (mostly) gluten-free this past month and a half! My eczema has been steadily improving, even with all the stress of finals and weather changes.

The bad news is that whenever I do eat a piece of toast or drink a beer, my eczema flares like crazy. It feels almost like an on-off switch, which is incredibly fascinating as well as frustrating.

The only problem is that I love eating hot, wholesome things in the morning, such as oatmeal and baked granola with tons of fruit and nuts. I used to love a hot bagel or toasted PB and J, but that is off the table as of right now. Unfortunately, a few days out of the week Cushing's dining room has no oatmeal, just cream of wheat, toast, eggs, and muffins, which are all out of my dietary range.

Here is my recipe for a simple and deliciously
 hot breakfast. This has become my life-blood the past few days, and is easily varied.

Ingredients:
Three minced, dried figs (I got a half pound container at Cornucopia for four dollars!!)
10 chopped almonds
1 diced banana
1 cubed pear
3 tablespoons good gluten-free granola (most granola is gluten-free)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
a few good shakes cinnamon
a pinch and a half of nutmeg

Combine everything very well in a big bowl. You can microwave the whole thing for forty seconds, or just steam/heat the almond milk and that will be enough to heat the rest of the ingredients. The figs and fruit are sweet and taste like pie when combined with hot milk and spices, and the almonds granola add great, protein-filled crunches to the mix. It's delicious, filling, wholesome, gluten, soy, and animal product free! Enjoy :)