Power Parfaits & Quinoa Granola

A few weeks ago, I confessed my love of quinoa.  When I recently came cross a recipe that called for cooked quinoa in granola, I nearly fell off my chair.  I thought it was brilliant, and before I had even made any I was sold.  Granola is a protein, nutrient rich food anyway (check out our favorite basic recipe here!), but add a grain like quinoa to it and it becomes a full on powerhouse of a snack!  Pair that with vitamin and antioxidant rich berries, low fat, organic yogurt for an extra boost of calcium, and you have yourself a nutrient dense breakfast or lunch that will give you energy for your day or boost your recovery after a workout.  Truly powerful.

This recipe begs to be stirred into something.  This is not your, snack-out-of-the-bag type of granola that is all clumpy.  Um, no.  That would be crumby.

Get it?  Crumby?  Heh heh…

Nope, this is a crunchy and dry, sprinkle over yogurt or eat out of the bowl with berries, type of granola.  I like to leave this plain.   As in, I don’t add any kind of dried fruit or chocolate chips to it.  I want it straight up so that I can do with it whatever my mood calls for.  Obviously, you can add whatever you feel like and because it is granola after all, mix-ins are allowed and encouraged.  The picture above is how I like to serve it to my kids.  The plain glass, footed dishes are fun and they feel like they are eating something extra special.  Being able to see the layers just makes mealtime that much more exciting!  And if they eat it with chunks of ripe peach or apricot, fresh blueberries, or even bananas on the bottom, the rainbow just looks cool.  And whether you are a parent, kid, or a kid at heart, it is kinda nice to have your meal look cool.  Dontcha think?

And there isn’t anything crumby about that!

One Year Ago: Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Two Years Ago: Grilled Pork Chops, Strawberry Ice Cream & Sweet Veggie Pasta Salad

Quinoa Granola
Adapted from How Sweet It Is
This granola is great sprinkled over frozen yogurt.  For breakfast, if yogurt isn’t your style, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal!

2 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c cooked quinoa (I freeze one cup portions of my leftovers)
1 c sliced almonds
1/2 c ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick of butter (4 T)
1/2 c honey
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.  Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the honey and vanilla.  Pour the warm mixture over the oat mixture and mix until evenly moist and well incorporated.  Spread out on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes.  Stir well, and bake for 10 minutes more.  Continue to bake, checking every few minutes, until dry and crunchy.  The amount of time will vary based on the moisture in your quinoa and your particular oven. For me, it takes about a half hour total.  Remember, the granola will crisp up a bit as it cools.  When its done, let it cool completely on the sheet pan before storing in an airtight container.  The granola freezes great!

Layer with fruit and yogurt for a healthy parfait.  Enjoy!