Delicious quinoa raw cacao chocolate muffins. GF/DF

Benefit: rich in protein and anti oxidants these really are a guilt free treat – wonderful to put into kiddies snack boxes.  The trouble with most gluten free products is that they are so refined, made with tapioca and potato starch making them very high in refined flours and sugars.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup raw coconut sugar
• 1 cup raw cacao powder (I like NAVITA products)
• 3/4 cup raw beetroot, grated
• 3/4 cup organic butter, coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut milk/nut milk/rice milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• Seeds of one vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
• 1 tbs ground seeds (chia/flaxseed)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with baking paper.

Rinse your quinoa thoroughly.  Bring the quinoa and water to the boil on your stove.  Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for ten minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the stove, lid on, for a further ten minutes.  Fluff with a fork and let it sit to cool.

Combine the coconut milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender with 2 1/3 cups of cooked quinoa.  Let it really blend until it is a beautiful white colour and quinoa is smooth then add in the butter, grated beetroot, coconut sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and ground raw seeds and cacao powder.  Blend again until combined.  Mixture should be nice and thick but not too nutty in texture as the quinoa should be well blended.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer is removed clean.

Place a piece of baking paper over the cup cakes if they are beginning to burn.  Remove from the oven and cool in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack.

Could also make as a chocolate loaf place mixture into lined loaf tin and bake until skewer comes out clean.

Adapted from Loving Earth recipe.