superfood week: quinoa blueberry muffins
- June 25, 2013 by Taylor
- 21 Comments
It’s Day 2 of Superfood Week and boy do I have a superfood packed muffin for you. These muffins are just full of super good for ya foods. We’ve got blueberries, quinoa, chia seeds, AND flax seeds. Plus whole wheat flour, very little sugar, oats, and coconut oil. Not to mention, they’re pretty tasty, too.
So the obvious superfoods here are blueberries and quinoa. Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Quinoa is a complete protein (14 grams in 1/2 cup!!), containing all nine essential amino acids. It’s also high in fiber, iron, riboflavin, and is also gluten-free. It definitely tops the list of my favorite foods because not only is it nutritious but also incredibly versatile and delicious. Another nutritional powerhouse in these muffins is the chia seed. Chia seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, and can help lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels.
While I’ve done my share of cooking with quinoa, I’ve never baked with quinoa. I figured adding quinoa to muffins would be a great way to get a load of protein in my breakfast, and keep my full until morning. Can I just say that I love these muffins?! I’ve been eating them warm, with butter (which is not a superfood, unfortunately) and slathered with peanut butter, which is my favorite way to eat them.
I must warm you: these quinoa blueberry muffins are not your typical light and cakey bakery muffin. They are made with whole wheat flour, oats, and quinoa, which makes them hearty and dense. I think for this reason, Marc is not as big of a fan of them as I am. In his words, “they taste too healthy.” Which is why, being the good wife I am, made him cookies tonight which he requested “without any of that superfood” in them. It’s all about balance, people.
Like this recipe? Then you’ll love these, too:
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Banana Peanut Butter Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp flaxseeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 cups cooked quinoa approx. 1/2 cup uncooked, cooked with 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted (could also use canola oil)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar could also use honey or agave nectar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup milk I used almond milk
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- If you don’t already have cooked quinoa on hand, add 1/2 cup of quinoa and add it to 1 cup boiling water. Cook as directed on package, about 10-12 minutes covered, until done.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease muffin pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax, and chia.
- In medium bowl, combine mix the quinoa, oil, sugar (or honey/agave), brown sugar and milk.
- Add the wet ingredients into they dry, stirring only enough to evenly distribute.
- Fold in blueberries. Batter will be thick.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. They don’t rise significantly, so I recommend filling them to their tops.
- Bake in preheated oven 20-22minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a muffin center.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.
- Enjoy!
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21 Comments
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I don’t think that I ever would have thought to put quinoa into a muffin – awesome idea. 🙂
I love everything about these muffins! Blueberries, flaxseeds, quinoa and chia seeds? YUM.
These look delicious! I’m actually allergic to Quinoa otherwise I’d be making these for sure!
I made banana quinoa muffins last week and loved them! Definitely need to try these!
Delish! Just made these!!
My whole family loves these muffins. I have made them twice now – they are fabulous.
Jiffy blueberry muffins were my favorite type of muffin before I became a vegan. I want to make these this weekend; do you think I could sub cooked millet for the quinoa?
Oh, I forgot to ask, did you use whole or ground flaxseed?
Sadie,
I’ve never worked with millet before so I can’t say for sure if it would work or not. Also, I used whole flaxseed. If you try it with millet, I’d love to hear how they turn out! Otherwise, I know they are delicious with quinoa 🙂
So I made these (with quite a few substitutions hehe) and they turned out pretty tasty! I used whole spelt flour instead of wheat, 1 T hemp seeds instead of flax, 2 cups cooked millet instead of quinoa, 1/2 cup raw coconut crystals instead of white and brown sugar, I added the zest of 1 lemon and 2 t vanilla extract, and (finally!) I made 14 muffins instead of 12. I will definitely make these muffins again (with fewer substitutions LOL).
Sadie, I love your modifications!!
I love the idea of these, especially with all the super food additions. I think I might try them for a dept meeting coming up. However, would they still work if I 86 some of the additions. I.e the cinnamon and nutmeg. I think I might be the healthtiest eating member and Im not quite sure how they would react to the different flavors.
Janizelle,
They would still turn out just without the flavors of those spices. I think people would like the cinnamon, though – that’s not too crazy of a spice 🙂
These are my new favorite muffins! I will definitely be making them again. They stay moist, even though packed with all whole grains. GREAT recipe–thank you!! I substituted some hemp for flax, stevia for brown sugar, and fresh-picked mulberries for blueberries. Next time I may use some poppy seeds…
So happy to hear you love the muffins, Kristina!
I just did this and added mashed banana and chocolate!. They aré just perfect.
Thank you for the recipe!
Great ideas Ana! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I have made these over and over and always need to double or triple to have plenty in the freezer! I eat them on the go before workouts, or on the way to work. And I love them w peanut butter or nut butter if I need extra protein. I usually used a frozen Kirkland three berry mix that I love which includes blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I gave the recipe to a friend a few months ago and she has been making them almost weekly since then :).
I am so happy to hear this!! I love the idea of using the three berry mix!
Just made these for breakfast for myself and 2 picky kiddos! So good.They are so delicious and filling. Love the quinoa added. I had a banana begging to be turned into banana bread but added it this instead and it worked perfectly. Wondering if this was made thinner if it could be turned into a pancake or waffle mix?
Yay! So happy you and your kids enjoyed them! 🙂 I’m not sure about them being made into a pancake or waffle mix, but that does make me want to try it! Let me know if you do…