Mary's Blueberry-Banana Quinoa Muffins

Have you tried cooking or baking with quinoa?   Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is the new "supergrain" on the market and a great grain to try if you haven't already.  Quinoa is grown in the Andes and has ancient roots as it was an important grain in the Inca Civilization.  

What makes quinoa so special?  It contains more protein than any other grain and compared to other grains it is a complete protein grain and provides all the essential amino acids in a balanced pattern.  Quinoa contains no gluten and can be used by those that follow a wheat or gluten free diet.

Quinoa is a species of "goosefoot" which is a grain-like crop with edible seeds.  Quinoa is not a member of the grass family and is related to species such as beets, spinach and tumbleweeds.  The quinoa leaves are eaten as a leafy vegetable.

  My daughter, Mary, and I have been enjoying using quinoa in a variety of recipes. Try quinoa in recipes that use rice or grains, just cook the quinoa first.  Recipes we've tried with quinoa that worked very well are:  stuffed green peppers, tabouleh,  pilaf, and spanish rice.  Try the red quinoa when you want to add a splash of color to one of your recipes!

Mary recently created this healthy, low-sugar Blueberry-Banana Quinoa muffin that we really enjoyed.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour (can use all white flour, or gluten free flour to taste)
1/2 cup splenda
1/4 cup brown sugar (3/4 cups brown sugar for non-splenda users)
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup whole milk (skim if you must!)
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium saucepan bring quinoa and 1 cup water to boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11-13 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray a 12-cup muffin pan with Pam.  In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, sugars, baking powder, salt and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg and vanilla.  Mix in the mashed banana and applesauce.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined.  Gently fold in blueberries and divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.  Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  (always refrigerate goods baked with splenda as it does not "preserve" food items as well as regular sugar; goods left on the counter for more than a day can become rancid).
Makes 12 muffins.

Mary adapted this recipe from a Quinoa Muffin recipe from MarthaStewart.com