Usually, the base of my granola are old fashioned rolled oats, but I wanted to switch it up, so I used puffed quinoa. You can either purchase it or make your own. One cup of puffed quinoa has about 110 calories per cup, 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, no sugar, and a little over one serving of carb. Not bad at all! This granola can be served on top of yogurt, as a topping for whole wheat pancakes or French toast, as added crunch to peanut butter spread on toast, or on top of some frozen yogurt for dessert! It’s much lighter than oat-based granola and is also naturally gluten free!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups puffed quinoa
- 3 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS Agave nectar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice blend
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBS flax seeds
- 2/3 cup of nuts- in this case I used pistachios and peanuts
- 8 prunes, finely chopped
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Mix oil, Agave, vanilla, spices, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Slowly add flaxseeds and puffed quinoa to the bowl. Mix well, until quinoa is fully coated.
4. Spread out granola onto a parchment paper or baking dish and bake for 7 minutes.
5. Stir well, add nuts and prunes, and bake for another 10 minutes or until quinoa is golden.
6. Allow to cool.
Enjoy!