Quin.....what? Quinoa - Healthy Super Food

Maybe you have heard of quinoa already and maybe you know about all the great health benefits and recipes you can make with quinoa.  If you are like me, maybe you had heard of it but never tried it - or maybe you haven't even heard of it.  I am going to give you a little bit of information about quinoa, some benefits of using it, and give you a recipe or two so you can try it out yourself.

Quinoa looks similar to couscous and can be used like rice.  It is a seed rather than a grain, packed with protein and has a rich slightly nutty flavor.  It is gluten free and not known to be an allergenic food.  Quinoa has a bitter coating and must be soaked to remove the coating before using it.  You can find ready to cook, pre-soaked quinoa (it is a little more expensive) so be sure to check the package and soak it if needed.  You can find quinoa at whole foods or health foods stores but you can also find it at Kroger or Walmart in the organic/natural food sections.

What are the benefits of Quinoa?      
                                     
1) Considered a complete protein full of essential amino acids.

2) Contains twice the fiber of other grains.

3) Contains Iron and Lysine.

4) Rich in Magnesium and high in Riboflavin.

5) Versatile enough for any meal of the day.




Recipes using Quinoa:

  Quinoa Protein Bars (as taken from my coach, melaniemitro.blogspot.com)

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
3 Tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1 banana mashed
1 egg                                                 1/2 cup chocolate chunks (I used Hershey's Special Dark chips)                                                             1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (I omitted the coconut)                                                       Mix first 4 ingredients well. Add next five ingredients, spread out on parchment paper lined pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

The Quinoa was still warm when I mixed in the peanut butter and honey so that made the mixing really easy. It was also still warm when I mixed in the chocolate, so I got some full chips but I also got quite a bit of melted chocolate too.  That is why the tops of the bars look so dark.  These aren't like granola bars, they aren't crunchy and I don't know if they would get crunchy even if you cooked them longer.  They were good though, so good I will have to limit myself on how many I eat.  I ended up with about 15 bars cut from a 9x11 pan.  They were about 160 calories per bar; due in large part to the peanut butter and chocolate chips.  I may try these with some different ingredients to see if I can get the calorie count down without sacrificing taste and nutrition.  Ultimately, these bars will be great for snacking or even a breakfast on the go, and they will make a good addition to the cooler for wrestling tournaments.

I will add another recipe using quinoa soon.  Originally I had plans to use a recipe that I have tried before but don't have a picture of the finished product.  Instead, I found something different I want to try and I will have a picture of that.  Ohhhh, the family is in for a treat!  Stay tuned.....

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies

A recipe has been floating around on Facebook called "Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies".  The picture that goes with the recipe looks a lot like No Bake Cookies which are my husband's favorite.  So, he shared the recipe with me and requested that I try it out - for a "healthy" alternative.  The recipe is simple and we already had all the ingredients on hand.  As you can see from the picture above, in reality these cookies look nothing like No Bake Cookies.  And sadly for my husband, they taste nothing like them either.  The cookies are kind of spongy and not sweet in the least.  Really you could only taste bananas and cocoa powder.  I wouldn't go so far as to call them cookies.  The boys ate them, but I think that is just because we haven't had anything in the house the even resembles a cookie in months.  The way the calories compared between the skinny and the no bake were about 2 to 1.  My husband said he would rather have 1 no bake than 2 skinny. The only problem with that is a lot of the ingredients in the no bake are not healthy in the least.  I think if you go into eating this cookie understanding it is not sweet and better for you than a regular no bake cookie it would be just fine.  I think you could trade out the cocoa powder for some chocolate Shakeology for a quick and easy breakfast on the go that would travel well in the car (you just couldn't bake them, they would need to be refrigerated).  Or trade the cocoa for some chocolate protein powder and these would make great snacks to take to sporting events for kids at half-time or to eat between matches.  As always, remember to let people know they contain peanut butter.  Here is the recipe:

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies

3 Ripe Bananas
2 Cups Oats
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (I used natural creamy peanut butter)
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mash bananas then add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Let sit for 20 minutes.  Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  
Makes 30 cookies.
*Note, the cookies will stick, it helps to loosen them with a spatula a few minutes after they have come out of the oven.