Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins

As I've mentioned before I'm always trying to find make-ahead breakfasts for Jake that will fill him up and give him energy for the day.  He is a big fan of muffins and when I went to grab one from the freezer the other day I realized it was our last one!  I knew I needed to replenish our stock ASAP.  After the success with my quinoa pancakes I have been wanting to try making muffins with quinoa so this seemed like the perfect time.

These muffins are chock-full of healthy ingredients.  The quinoa and Greek yogurt give them protein.  Both quinoa and chia seeds are great sources of Omega-3.  Add in the carrots and whole-wheat flour and you have a breakfast treat you can feel good about feeding your kids (or yourself).  The raisins, brown sugar, fig butter, and pumpkin pie spice keep them tasting great without being overly sweet.

If you have some cooked quinoa already made, these come together really quickly and you don't even need a mixer.

Start out by melting a stick of butter and then setting it aside to cool off.  In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, chia seeds, baking soda, and salt.

In a smaller bowl mix together the melted butter, some Greek yogurt, 2 eggs, vanilla, and some fig butter.  You can leave out the fig butter if you don't have any, but it has a sweet, honey-like flavor that perfectly complements the other flavors in the muffin.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.  Finely chop some carrots, I used my food processor.  Fold the carrots and a cup of raisins into the batter.

Then use an ice cream scoop to fill paper lined muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.

These Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins are a hearty and delicious way to start your day.  Bake up a batch and freeze some for the perfect breakfast on the run.  Enjoy!

Quinoa & Chia Seed Carrot Muffins
Makes 16 muffins

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbls. chia seeds
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbls. fig butter (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl combine quinoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
3. In a small bowl mix together butter, yogurt, vanilla, fig butter, and eggs.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. Gently fold in the carrots and the raisins.
6. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins.
7. Bake 23-25 minutes. 

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