Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Quinoa Granola Trail Mix

It's kid week! My adorable 2 year old niece is staying with me this week, so I haven't had as much time to post recipes. However, she helped me make a great one today! Inspired by a quinoa granola recipe I saw online, I revamped the recipe and threw it in a trail mix! And I have to admit, even though it was meant for kids ... I can't stop eating it!!
What is quinoa? (Pronounced keen-wa) is a seed, but can be used like a grain. It has all 9 essential amino-acids, which makes it a complete protein. It is usually organic and is gluten and cholesterol free.

Alright, ready to hit the trail? Well ... trail mix that is ...

What you need

The Granola:
1 cup quinoa (washed and drained)
1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
3 T pure maple syrup
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t cinnamon
Mix the maple syrup, oil, and cinnamon together, stir in quinoa and oats.
Spread on greased baking sheet
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, stirring or flipping every 5 minutes.
Cool completely.
It might look like bird seed ... but it tastes great!

In the meantime ... you can get the trail mix ready!
Trail Mix:
2 cups sunflower seeds (unsalted)
1 cup unsweetened coconut
2 cups raisins
1.5 cups unsweetened mini chocolate chips (my niece loved the minis - at my house they have been renamed to "teeny-tiny-choco-chips)
Quinoa/oatmeal granola
(Feel free to add whatever else you have in the cupboard: chopped dates, M&Ms, nuts, Craisins, etc, etc)

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