nearly flourless oat-quinoa-blueberry muffins

Isn't that a great color?  Good for you, too!  I adapted this recipe from the book, Baking With Agave Nectar, by Ania Catalano.  I used quinoa grain instead of quinoa flour, and substituted cooked steel cut oats for the cornmeal.  I needed about 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour to hold the batter together in the end.  Here is my recipe:

nearly flourless oat-quinoa-blueberry muffins

 preheat oven to 350 F.
1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 1/2 c water
1 c quinoa (whole grains)
1 egg
1/4 c olive oil (extra virgin gives the best amino fatty acid amounts)
1/3 c "light" agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinmnamon
1 tsp grated orange peel
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 c all-purpose flour
2-3 handfuls fresh blueberries


Cook oats in the 2 1/2 cups of water, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the oats have cooked through and have absorbed the liquid, more or less. (if the oat grains are still too chewy/crunchy for your taste. add a little more water and cook a few minutes longer)  Allow to cool.

Combine oats, quinoa, agave syrup, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, orange peel, vanilla, and baking powder, and give a good stir to combine.  Then add as much flour (I used about 1/2 cup) to hold together a sticky soft dough.  Add blueberries.

Pour mixture into muffin cups in a muffin tin (about 12 muffins) Bake 25-30 minutes till golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool and enjoy!

What would I do differently next time?
~I would add the baking powder just before adding the flour- I added it to the warm oats, and the baking powder sprang to life with the heat.  I would have rather sprang it to life as I was pouring into the muffin cups, and perhaps they would have turned out fluffier.

~I might cook the quinoa with the oats.  The grains were crunchy, which isnt such a bad thing.

~I'd hide more goodies in there!  Flax seed meal and sesame seeds would have been a nice, nutritious addition!



What anti-inflammatory properties was I thinking?
~Using as little flour as possible to keep glycemic index low.

~Using steel cut oats to also keep glycemic index low (as opposed to rolled or instant oats)  Same for using agave syrup instead of regular sugar.

~Using quinoa as a supplimental nutritious grain

~using extra virgin olive oil for essential fatty acid content,

~blueberries for antioxidant and vitamin content and supper yummy taste

berry soy-bet

What a beautiful way to get your soy, don't you think?  Just look at that lovely color!  The color, I am proud to say, is 100% natural- from the raspberries and strawberries blended into the tofu and small dabble of plain Greek yogurt.  You can make this "soy-bet") from any berries, but this is how I made this today:

Berry Soy-bet

Approximately 12-16 ounces of fresh berries (2 small 6 0z containers raspberries plus 5- strawberries  is what I used today)

1/2-pound silken tofu (1/2 of a standard container)

3 oz plain Greek yogurt (1/2 of a single-serve container)  *I imagine this ingredient could be optional*

1/2 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl it till it is a uniform, smooth texture. 

Place the mixture into a sealable kitchen storage container, and place it in the freezer for about 2 hours.  While freezing, take the container out every 15 minutes and give it a quick shake.  When 2 hours pass, take the container out, open the lid, and fluff the soy-bet with a fork, and serve immediately. 

I imagine using an ice cream maker of some design would work beautifully with this recipe, too.


This yummy dessert contains isoflavones from the soy, which act as antioxidants.  The berries are rich in flavonoids and carotenoids, which are also anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory in action, not to mention having great vitamin content!