Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and lucky for me I love breakfast.  I also love having something quick, healthy and readily available to grab, and these muffins are perfect for that.  If you have left over quinoa in the fridge, you can use that.  If not, it cooks up easily in about 15 minutes. Quinoa is easily digestible, gluten-free, actually has more calcium than milk & full of protein. Mixed with the fruity raspberries means you’re off to a good start in the morning with these muffins, or as an afternoon snack.

I found this recipe in Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood, a cookbook dedicated to this amazing wholegrain. It also has a pretty sweet baby food section which I will be diving into soon for Miss Calla.

1/2 cup white or golden quinoa
1 cup water

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda

4oz cold light cream cheese, diced small

1 cup frozen raspberries

3/4 cup white or cane sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Combine all dri ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.  Add 1 1/4 cups of the cooked quinoa and mix until it is evenly coated with the flour mixture. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking up any large pieces. The cream cheese should remain chunky in these muffins. Add the frozen raspberries and coat in the flour mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil, followed by the egg. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until just combined. Spoon the dough evenly among the cups. Bake on the center rack for 25 to 27 minutes, until the muffins are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.