Banana Strawberry wholemeal muffins with Quinoa and Chia

I'm always in the search for healthiER (Focus on the ER in the end, cause I know its hard to make muffins actually healthy, hahaha).
I've been doing some sort of Cake or Muffins every week. Its becoming a terrible habit, therefore, the reason for my search for healthier alternatives, if that makes sense.
So today I've decided to try this recipe (and obviously added my touch to it, as you do) and they came out brilliant.
The fruit inside makes these muffins very moist and soft inside.

You will need:

  • 1/4 cup of Quinoa. I think white would taste the best but use whatever you want / have. 
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) of water
  • 1 full tablespoon of Chia seeds (I used organic black)
  • 1 cup of Wholemeal flour
  • 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 cup of diced strawberries. Fresh or Frozen (I used fresh)
  • 1 cup of mashed ripe banana (About one large banana)
  • 1/4 cup (60ml)vegetable oil (if you are using coconut, you might need to adjust quantities, cause the binding is a bit different, I used regular sunflower oil)
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) plain yoghurt, low fat is better
  • 1 large or extra large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract


Method:
Pre heat your oven to 200 C (180 C fan forced). Line up a 12 muffins pan with muffin cups, or paper liners. 

In a small saucepan or Pot, bring the quinoa and water to boil. when boiling reduce heat and let it cook for about 10 min. Turn of the heat and let it rest / cool down. 

Sift the flour into a bowl, and add baking powder, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon. Mix it. Once the quinoa cool down (at some stage) separate it with a fork (like you do with cuscus) and add it to the mix. Mix everything well. Add the strawberries and give it a quick mix.  

In a large bowl, combine first the sugar with the oil. once its well blended, add the yoghurt, egg, vanilla and ripe banana. 
Add the dries to the wet mixture and gently stir to combine. Like always, be careful not to overmix. 
Divide the batter among the muffin cups and cook it for around 30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 

WAIT UNTIL THEY COOL DOWN!!! That's an important step. I'm always desperate to try one immediately but you need to wait them to cool down to finish cooking. 

Hope you enjoy it. My family certainly did! :)