Words and photo by Charlotte Cretney (aka Little Hepburn / @littlehepburnnz)
If you have a little one who isn’t too fused on greens, then these delicious Quinoa bites are a sure way to get some healthy vegetables inside them. I’ve been eating them for healthy breakfasts on the go, or snacks for my marathon training too. Yum Yum!
Quinoa, pronounced “keen-wah”, is a protein-packed grain containing every amino acid, and is particularly rich in lysine, which promotes healthy tissue growth throughout the body. Quinoa is also a good source of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, potassium, and fiber. It looks a bit like couscous and is as versatile as rice, but quinoa has a richer, nuttier flavor than either of them.
Quinoa also has a high protein-to-carbohydrate ratio when compared to other grain products. It was proposed by NASA to be an ideal food for long duration space flights too.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- A few florets of broccoli cut into small pieces
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- ½ cup shredded zucchini or carrots (use a box grater)
- ¼ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ teaspoon salt, a sprinkle of pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed rosemary
*Note: You can add any vegetable you want! The world is your oyster*
Method
- Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan (12 regular muffins) very well with nonstick spray. You can use muffin cases too, I found this worked best for my big muffins.
- Preheat oven to 180 F (350 degrees).
- Cook quinoa according to package directions and let cool.
- Prepare veggies by grating zucchini and quartering grape tomatoes.
- In large measuring cup with spout, whisk together eggs. Stir in quinoa until evenly mixed.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix until evenly combined.
- Carefully pour evenly into 20 of the muffin tins, careful not to overfill (they won’t expand much, but just a little). If love cheese you can sprinkle a bit on top too!
- Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are set.
- Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins to a cooling rack.
- Place cooled muffins in freezer bag if desired and place in freezer.
- To heat: defrost in microwave for about 1 minute and then cook on high for 30 seconds or until heated through.
