Whole Wheat Quinoa Fruit Muffins

So I found this awesome recipe as I was perusing Pinterest the other day:

Quinoa Raspberry Muffins from In Sock Monkey Slippers.

Well, I love quinoa and decided I needed a go at these awesome little buggers.  But I am doing Weight Watchers and needed to modify it so that I can follow it on plan and get as much bang for my buck as I can.  Plus I am also a whole wheat junkie, I blame that on my Mom. Now I am also planning on making these with Splenda's brown sugar and see if it drops the points any...who knows, but it's worth a try.  I will let you know if it works! 

So here is my modified version:

Whole Wheat Quinoa Fruit Muffins

Makes 12 hearty muffins!

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Points + per serving: 4

(I know, I know, I know...I have a crappy camera.  Sorry!)

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fruit (I used diced strawberries in the picture above.  But I would also recommend bananas, any kind of berry, and possibly apple with a little cinnamon added.)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour.  In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water to boil.  Add quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes.  Drain off any excess water.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Use a fork to evenly distribute the brown sugar so it becomes a crumb-like consistency.  Add the quinoa and gently stir until the quinoa is evenly coated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg beaters, and almond.  Pour over dry ingredients and mix.  Fold in the fruit.
4. Fill up your muffin cups.  They fill right up to the top, so don't be afraid to pour a lot in!  Bake for 10 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes.  They will be golden brown, and when inserting a toothpick it will come out clean.  
5. Carefully remove from pan and let cool.
6. ENJOY!!!

My kids loved them, my hubby loved them, and I wanted to eat the whole pan!!!  But I refrained from doing so, although with  great difficulty.  These are even great as leftovers.  I want to try freezing them, but that will only happen if we don't devour them all first!

Orignial Recipe Credit: http://www.insockmonkeyslippers.com/quinoa-raspberry-muffins

love,