Tag: quinoa | Nourished Roots

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

January 20, 2015

In my never ending quest for new snack options for my boys, I have tried some strange combinations. It can be so hard to find something they like that is not loaded with sugar or additives. Making my own snacks can be a good option but I don’t always have the time for complicated recipes. I was so happy when I saw this recipe for Quinoa Bars from My Whole Foods Life . It was easy and had very few but yummy ingredients. I love quinoa- every cup has 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, folate, phosphorous and B vitamins. It is a gluten free seed with some serious nutrition! I had never tried quinoa flakes before so was curious to see what they were like. I bought Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes. They were so nutty and yummy that I used them again this am in some chia seed pudding. I could see a lot of uses for them!

I wanted to make a few tweaks to the recipe but pretty much left it as it was designed. I decided to add some chocolate chips to these bars to entice my boys to eat them. I really like Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips because they taste like regular chocolate chips but are gluten, soy and dairy free- so yummy! Finally, I had a weird assortment of nut butters that I cobbled together because I didn’t have much of any particular type. I used Mara Natha All Natural Roasted Almond Butter, Maranatha Cashew Butter and a tiny bit of a local pumpkin seed butter.

The recipe from My Whole Foods Life was for raw bars but I wanted to try to bake them to see if I could get them to hold together better. (I often find my raw bars tend to be crumbly.) I wasn’t sure if it would help but decided to give it a shot.

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
1 heaping cup almond butter (I used a combination of almond, cashew and pumpkin)
1/3 cup maple syrup (you could substitute honey)
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place quinoa flakes in bowl with cinnamon, and salt.
Heat nut butters, syrup, coconut oil and vanilla over low fire until well combined.
Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
Add chocolate chips. They will melt if you don't allow the dough to cool. I like them melted so didn't cool the dough.
Spread dough in 8X8 parchment lined pan.
Press down firmly to compress the dough.
Place in oven for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.
Allow to cool and then enjoy.

http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/chocolate-chip-quinoa-snack-bars/

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Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Dark Chocolate Oat and Seed Snacks

September 4, 2014

Chocolaty oaty goodness!

When I was a kid, occasionally my mom would make Chocolate Chow Mein Noodle Cookies. I, of course, thought they were the bomb and gave no thought to all the processed ingredients in the noodles or conventional chocolate chips! I still often feel a nostalgia for some of the “treats” of my childhood but now I have begun to look for ways to make them healthier. This recipe came out of that nostalgia.

I knew I wanted to keep the feeling of the noodles covered with chocolate but without the unhealthy fat you get from using a fried noodle. I decided to use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Oats to take the place of the noodles. Also, I wanted to incorporate more protein and healthy omega-3’s in this snack so I added Trader Joe’s Organic Tricolor Quinoa, Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Chia Seeds, and Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts. I added cinnamon for its blood sugar balancing and anti-inflammatory properties and cardamom to aid in digestion. Finally, instead of using regular milk chocolate, I switched to Newman’s Own Organic Premium Chocolate Bar, 70% for all the heart healthy flavonoids that come with dark chocolate. These were VERY easy to whip up and don’t require any baking!

Everything all mixed up and ready to go in the muffin tins.

I made sure to press hard on the oat mixture as I added it to each tin so all the ingredients would be compressed and hold together better.

Chocolate oat mixture before it hits the fridge.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how these would end up. I worried the oats wouldn’t offer the same feel as the fried noodles. However, between the oats and the seeds you still got the feel of crunchy, chocolaty goodness! These turned out super yummy! Unfortunately, this recipe only produced 7 treats so the next time I make them, I am going to be sure to double the recipe! (These are best stored in the fridge because the chocolate tends to melt quickly.)

Treats all ready to eat.

Dark Chocolate Oat and Seed Snacks

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup of oats
2 tbs of quinoa, toasted
1 tbs of chia seeds
1/4 cup of hemp seeds
1/4 cup of dried cherries
1/3 cup of coconut oil
2 tbs of cocoa powder
4 squares of dark chocolate
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of cardamon
a dash of salt, to taste
1-2 tsp of maple syrup, use to taste

Instructions

Toast quinoa in a dry pan.
Shake pan often to keep from sticking and/or burning.
Remove from fire when quinoa is lightly toasted.
Put chocolate, coconut oil and cocoa powder in double boiler and melt over light heat.
Once melted, stir in the cinnamon, salt, maple syrup and cardamon.
Taste to see if sweet enough for your taste. If not, add more maple syrup.
Once combined, stir in the oats, quinoa, chia seeds, hemp seeds and dried cherries.
Stir until all the dried ingredients are covered with chocolate.
Spoon "dough" into lined muffin cups.
Place in fridge to set.
These will keep best in the fridge.

http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-oat-and-seed-snacks/

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This post was added to Fiesta Fridays.

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Dark Chocolate Cherry Snack Bars

March 19, 2014

Finished Bars.

In our house, I am always looking for the easy grab and go snack for my active family. As I have moved through this journey towards healthier eating for me and my family, I have been appalled at some of the ingredients listed on food boxes- especially foods marketed towards kids. My kids love their snack bars so I like to try to develop recipes that appeal to their desire for a bar but without all the extra “special” ingredients of commercial bars. With these Dark Chocolate Cherry Snack Bars, I think I have scored a winner.

They are crunchy, chewy, chocolaty, nutty mounds of goodness with tons of healthy omega-3’s, protein and other vitamins and minerals. And best of all they have no “mystery” ingredients that you need a science degree to pronounce!

Chopped and roasted pistachios.

In this bar, I have used both quinoa, a seed most people are familiar with and millet, a grain most people aren’t familiar with eating. (Even though people in Europe have been eating it for centuries, most Americans will only recognize it as one of the ingredients in bird seed.) I like to add millet to baked goods because it is a gluten free, high protein, high fiber grain that adds a little crunch to whatever I am whipping up. Millet is high in amino acids, B-complex vitamins including niacin, folate, thiamine, and riboflavin, and is high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and potassium. It also is a good source of calcium and zinc. However, if the thought of eating “bird food” makes you squeamish or can’t find millet, you can replace it with quinoa or another of your favorite grains.

Oat mixture before the almond butter.

Oat mixture combined with the almond butter mixture.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Snack Bars

Ingredients

1 cup soaked uncooked old fashion oats
1/4 cup soaked uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup soaked uncooked cup of millet
3/4 cup unsweetened dried cherries
1/2 cup of salted dry roasted pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup of hemp seeds
2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds
1 ounce of dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup of almond butter, smooth
6 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

Soak oats, quinoa and millet for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight- (if you are going to soak).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drain oats, quinoa and millet and then spread on a baking sheet.
Bake at least 10 minutes but until lightly brown. Stir to break up any clumps that form.
Let cool.
Place oat mixture in a large bowl and add the coconut, cherries, pistachios, flax meal, chocolate and hemp seeds.
Combine the almond butter, coconut oil and maple syrup in a pot.
Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly.
Pour almond mixture over the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
Press mixture into an 8x8 pan greased with coconut oil.
Bake for 13 minutes or until lightly brown.

http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/dark-chocolate-cherry-snack-bars/

Finished product. Yum! Yum!

This post is part of a link-up party on Tip Junkie.

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Seven Seed Bars

March 15, 2014

Photo by Naomii on flickr.

One of the major bonuses of being in a Wholistic Nutrition program is having other students and teachers cook for you. We have shared some seriously tasty meals in the year we have been in school. In one of our beginning classes, the Wellspring teachers brought a snack bar that has become a stable in our house. This bar is something I can cook up in a short amount of time and know the boys are getting some good, healthy nutrition in a grab and go package. These bars do not hang around very long in our house.

Measured quinoa.

Roasting macadamias and quinoa.

Stirring up some seeded goodness!

Seven seed bars ready for consumption.

Seven Seed Bars

Ingredients

½c quinoa toasted
1 ½c almond butter
½c maple syrup (I don't like mine really sweet, so I often short my 1/2 cup a little.)
½c brown rice syrup or agave (I will also short this a little too.)
¼tsp cardamom
¼tsp cinnamon
½c sunflower seeds toasted
¾c pumpkin seeds toasted
¼c hulled hemp seeds
½c macadamia nuts toasted & chopped
¼c cacao nibs (sometimes I leave these out, depending on if I have them or not)

Instructions

Toast nuts and quinoa in 350 degree oven or on the stove top in a heavy pan.
Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Mix almond butter, syrups and spices.
Add all seeds.
Mix well.
Oil a 9x13 pan and spread batter evenly.
Bake 15 minutes til golden brown.
Cool before slicing.
Stores well in the fridge for about a week but only if they don't all get eaten in the first hour.

http://www.nourishedrootspdx.com/blog/seven-seed-bars/

As you can see, these are an amazingly dense bar, packed with nutty nutrition. These bars offer a high amount of protein in a small package. Quinoa is a gluten free seed which is an excellent source of vegetarian protein. It contains eight essential amino acids our body needs to thrive. One cup has 5 grams of fiber and is an excellent source of manganese, potassium, copper, B6, phosphorous and thiamine.

Almonds have been recommended for years as a quick source of healthy protein. They contain two essential brain nutrients, the amino acid, l-carnitine and riboflavin. Both nutrients have been shown to increase brain activity. Almonds help raise the HDL cholesterol, “good” cholesterol, and lower the LDL (bad cholesterol) in the body. They also contain high levels of phosphorous with helps build strong bones and teeth.

Depending on the other nuts or seeds you choose to use in this recipe, you can create a nutritional powerhouse for your own family based on the flavors and textures they enjoy.

This post shared with Gluten Free Homemaker.

Filed Under: Blog, Snacks

Tag Archives: quinoa

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Bars

Dark Chocolate Oat and Seed Snacks

Dark Chocolate Cherry Snack Bars

Seven Seed Bars