I was having a sweet tooth (do I always have a sweet tooth?) and really wanted to perfect a quinoa recipe I had tried to make twice before.

I have previously mentioned the great benefits of quinoa in a blog post but if you need a refresher click here!

Just a reminder, quinoa is gluten and wheat free and can be used in sweet and savoury dishes. I had previously used it to make quinoa with roasted cauliflower and pumpkin but the versatility of quinoa set me out to search for a sweet dish. This is what I found:

Recipe adapted from vegan-food


Makes:14
Cost: $0.41 per cupcake

Preparation time: 20 minutes + 10minutes in fridge

Baking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup cooked quinoa
• 1/3 Cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 2/3 Cup white sugar (Or low GI sugar)
• 1 Teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 Teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Cup wholemeal flour
• 1/2 Cup white flour
• 4 Tablespoons water
• 6.5 Tablespoons low fat/skim milk
• 1 Large egg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees celcius
2. Rinse 1/3 cup of dried quinoa (This will make about 3/4-1cup of cooked quinoa)
3. Place rinsed quinoa in a covered pot with about 2 cups of water. 
4. Bring the quinoa to a boil, and simmer for approximately 20 minutes and add water if necessary. 
5. After 25minutes take the quinoa off the stove, drain if necessary and allow to cool (in fridge is quicker). The quinoa should be fluffy and opaque looking and the liquid should mostly be all absorbed.
6. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.
7. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well with a wooden spoon. It should look like this: 

1. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for about twenty minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Per cupcake: Energy: 693kJ (165.5Cal) Fat: 5.3g Sat Fat: 1.0g Carbohydrates: 24.4g Protein: 4.1g Sodium: 127.4mg Fibre: 2g  

Here they come out of the oven....



Notice how it looks bumpy on the top? I think the quinoa hardens with the exposure to heat and it offers a grittiness and crunch on the outside but the inside is super soft.



A look on the inside....
The flecks of yellow are the quinoa casing.

 
These are ones I had made previously when I was still perfecting the recipe. I added some ready made frosting as they looked a bit bare. I would have tried making my own frosting but I was in a rush and the shops had closed!

I have made these cupcakes 3 times now and each time I have added more milk and water (notice how wet it looks in the mixing picture?). This made sure they were nice and moist. Timing in the oven is also very crucial as they can dry out easily if left for too long in the oven. The original recipe called for very little liquid and the flour did not have enough liquid to go with it. I added in an egg to make it more cohesive as the original batch crumbled away. I always feel wholemeal cupcakes need a bit more milk or water as they can turn out dry so experiment!

The cupcakes were absolutely delicious the 3rd time round. The first batch fell apart and were dry. The second batch were a lot more moist but still a bit hard. Three's the charm as they were soft and mosit and so deliciously chocolatey! I brought the 2nd batch into work previously and everyone said they loved it and it didn't taste any different to normal cupcakes. I think they may have lied a bit =P. I can't say you can not taste the grittiness from the wholemeal flower or quinoa at all but it's very acceptable (especially if you had my 3rd batch!).  It looked like a normal chocolate cupcake and tasted 90% like a normal cupcake!

Nutritionally Speaking....
These cupcakes fare nutritionally better than many of the commercial cupcakes being low in saturated fat and higher in protein and fibre. They are a great snack on the go and was able to satisfy my sweet tooth and will be more filling than other commercial cupcakes. However notice the nutrition information is only for 1 cupcake and it may be hard to stop at one with these.... also the nutrition information does not have frosting and the addition of frosting will add to calories. If you are having more than 1 of these cupcakes the energy/calories do add up and no amount of good protein and fibre will discount that!

So what should I make next with quinoa?

Here is a dish with a fancy ingredient that most have probably never heard of. It's Quinoa (Pronounced keen-wa) and it's my new favourite seed (that is used as a grain)! This seed originated in South America thousands of years ago but is now found in many health food stores and touted as a super food.

• If you're looking for superfoods, direct your attention to quinoa cause it's up there as one of the best! 
• Low GI unlike white bread
• High in fibre to keep you full for longer
• High in protein to also keep you full for longer
• It contains all the essential amino acids which are the building blocks of protein in your body. Most cereals lack lysine while most legumes lack methionine which is why vegetarians are often advised to eat both food groups. Quinoa is a great source of protein for vegans and vegetarians.  
• Good source of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous  
• Gluten and wheat free for those with intolerances or coeliac disease
• NASA wants to use it

But what does it taste like?

• Quinoa has a very mild nutty taste 
• It has a fluffy yet grainy texture 
• Some say it tastes creamy too
• It's great in sweet and savoury dishes so very versatile 
• Have it in stews, soups, salads, curries, pilafs, desserts, puddings   
• Have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack; Is there anything more versatile??

I bought mine at Woolworths in the health food aisle but I'm sure other supermarkets have it as well. They are also available in most health stores.

Some places also have quinoa flour or quinoa pasta. Helgas sells wholgrain quinoa and flaxseed bread. 

Recipe: Quinoa with Roasted Cauliflower and Pumpkin
Serves 4
Cost: $1.50/serve

Ingredients
1 cup Quinoa
300g Cauliflower florets
Juice of half a lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled
500g pumpkin

Oops forgot to take photos of rest of process

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C
2. Chop up pumpkins into bite sized chunks
3. Chop up cauliflower into little tree like florets
4. Place cauliflower and pumpkin onto roasting dish and drizzle lemon juice and olive oil on it
5. Add the chopped garlic to roasting dish and a bit of salt and pepper to taste
6. Cook for 20-30min until the veggies are lightly browned and a fork pierces it easily
7. While the veggies are cooking, rinse quinoa in water and place drained quinoa in a saucepan
8. Place 1.5cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the germ turns opaque and splits from the seed- see picture.
9. Toss cooked quinoa with the pumpkin and cauliflower and serve!

Other ways to enjoy quinoa

• Add a bit of soft cheese to the dish 
• You can also add your own mix of herbs and spices (My siblings aren't great fans of these so my dishes often do not contain them)
• Substitute rice or cous cous in your dish for some quinoa next time
• You can also use quionoa to stuff vegetables
• You can also use stock instead of water
• Nuts such as almonds, cashews and pistachios also go great with quinoa
• I hear roasted cauliflower with a bit of bread crumbs is also really great
• Although it's meatless monday you can also add a bit of grilled meat to the mix 

I used some left over quinoa and added baby spinach, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, fetta cheese and roast prok with a tablespoon of the gravy from it. It was super yummy and more colourful than the other pictures =P

• Dietriffic
• WH Foods
• Green Grapes Nutrition