Sunday, March 30, 2008

Almond-Quinoa Muffins

A friend just had a baby (congratulations Leigh!) and I asked what she needed in the way of food. She said protein and no sugar. I thought of quick easy recipes, since I was short on time, like Black Bean and Vegetable Soup, Snobby Joes, mixed greens salad...fine, but what for dessert/snack since nursing a new baby with three other children in the house often means grabbing food on the go? I flipped through Vegamonicon and the Almond-Quinoa Muffins had their hand raised yelling "Me, Me, call on ME!" so I had to make them. The protein punch of almond flour (not to mention calcium, magnesium, vitamin E , etc.), and quinoa (more calcium, magnesium, iron, etc.). Add the the low Glycemic index of agave nectar, the main sweetener in the recipe. Throw in currants (vitamin C, but higher glycemic index, but only 1/4 cup of the little critters for a whole batch so I thought it would be okay), whole wheat pastry flour, and some ground flax seeds to make them stick together with omega 3's. I only made one batch because, well, with so much good for you stuff, how would they taste? I let the boys each have one after they licked the bowl clean. They loved them. I had to make two more batches in the next 24 hours and they are all gone so I probably will make more in the near future. They were a hit at my house and I hope they did okay at Leigh's. The spices remind me a little of chai tea and they are just the right sweetness (Rob doesn't like things that are too sweet...except for me, of course). I think these little muffins will be a regular at our house. Too bad they aren't more photogenic.

3 comments:

Loretta said...

I decided I wanted to make these after reading this post but when I went to SF to buy some quinoa, they were all sold out! Maybe b/c you used so much at your house in the past few days--or everybody ran out to do the same thing after reading this entry? :)

Jennifer said...

Ok... I am going to need this recipe. Sounds so good. So where can we get quinoa??? :)

VeganLinda said...

Wow, to think I might have single-handedly brought on a quinoa shortage in Chambana. :-)

Quinoa is available through the co-op, SF, World Market, and IGA that I know about. I'll post the recipe on the NFLG list.