Quinoa Pumpkin Seed Granola
I’m making some changes to my website. I changed my blog to a simple looking design, and added a cool feature for the recipes to be viewed and printed from. I’m not sure if I like everything yet, and I still have a lot of tweaks to work on. I would love some feedback. What do you think of the updates?
My dietary changes are still in the works as well. This no junk food 21 day challenge has been super hard! I don’t eat a lot of pre-packaged (like Hamburger Helper kind of stuff) or fast foods, but I do take far too many bites of sweet treats throughout my day. All those little bites can add up to a big serving! It has been a challenge to stick with good for you snacks!
I adapted this Quinoa Pumpkin Seed Granola from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (January 2013). This granola is filled with all things good for you, Quinoa (KEEN-wah), seeds, nuts, and dried fruit. I’m pleasantly surprised by how satisfying granola can be. Granola isn’t particularly a low-cal food, but this combination is packed with protein, and just a 1/4 cup fills me up!
Ok, I don’t know if you thought of this, but after looking at these close-up pictures, this granola resembles bird seed, right? Ha-ha!
I’ve added some granola to my Greek yogurt for breakfast (grainy phone photo), and topped it on fresh fruit, as well and eating it just as it is.
My first batch was made with flaxseed, and my second with chia seed.
They both have a delicious crunch when you take bites of it, but I’m not sure which is nutritionally better. I have been under the impression that to get the benefits of flax it had to be ground, if not then the seeds will pass right through you, but chia can be eaten as-is.
Does anyone know if that is true?
This food challenge has been good for me. I’m much more aware of the foods and snacks I’m putting in my mouth, but I already know that it’s far too strict for me. I need chocolate to be a happy person, and I just don’t think I want to deny myself happiness. Makes sense, right ? 😉
Quinoa Pumpkin Seed Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed and drained well
- 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds pepitas
- 1/2 cup whole and/or slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup flax or chia seed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup dried fruit cranberries, cherries, golden raisins, chopped apricots
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine quinoa, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and flax or chia seeds. In a small microwave-safe bowl heat honey on high power for 20 seconds. Stir in coconut oil, cinnamon, and salt. Pour honey mixture over quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Spread in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring a couple of times. Remove from oven, and stir in dried fruit. Cool and break up any large pieces.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
For another tasty granola recipe, try Shelby’s Dark Chocolate Nutty Granola at The Grumpy’s Honey Bunch.
Have a wonderful week and make sure to put your freshly made granola in a container not to be confused with food for the birds 🙂
Great recipe for a healthy breakfast. I love that it has quinoa and chia. Definitely on my must-try list!
I love adding this granola to my yogurt. The crunch is a perfect texture. Hope you enjoy it too!
Thank you, Renee! Your quick posts always catch my attention. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
This granola looks tasty. I have the same problem as you…I don’t have a problem not eating packaged/processed foods and fast food but I have such a sweet tooth :/ It is typically homemade treats or ice cream in the evening but the sugar adds up.
Yep, we have the same issues. Give the granola a try. It still has a little bit of sweetness, but packed with good stuff!
Looking good!!!! thanks for liking my recent blog post about the New York Wine Expo! Cheers!
Have a great time, Faith! I’m envious 🙂 I also made a comment. Maybe it’s in your spam?!
I made some of this with tri-colored granola and took to as a thank you gift to my sister-in-law. She loved it and asked for the recipe. Said she had to make herself stop eating it.
Oh, thanks for letting me know your SIL liked it! So nice of you to give it as a gift. I had planned on doing the same, but somehow it never makes it out of my kitchen 😉
Sandra dear! That granola bar sure looks delicious and tasty! Also loving the new blog look and the printable recipes. 🙂 and I notice the change in your pictures! Did you get a new camera??
Hi Sammie! I started my blog using a Canon sure shot, then got brave enough to play with a Canon Rebel. I still don’t know what I’m doing. Lot’s of pictures get deleted, but I just downloaded an e-book from a blogger that has lots of tips and details on food photography. I can’t wait to study it! I got the info from Heather @ Sugar Dish me if you’re interested in checking it out too.
This looks great! I’d like my teen daughters to avoid that “I don’t eat breakfast” phase that so many girls and young women seem to get into. We’ll try this for sure.
I would love to hear what they think! Add some chocolate chips, and I bet they’ll love it more 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I like the clean look. Chocolate is good for you as long as you eat the dark kind and good quality.
Thank you, Norma! I’m back to enjoying some good chocolate!
I adore quinoa granola– I eat it with milk in place of breakfast cereal. This recipe is beautiful!! Loving the photos & the clean new look. The printer friendly plug-in looks great! Just keep playing with it till you get it how you like. We need to set something up soon!
I haven’t studied the tips from the photo e-book yet, so when I apply those guidelines, photos will really be drool worthy!! You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to chat with you during this process. Can you be my neighbor ?! :)) Thanks for the encouraging words!
You are totally welcome to email me anytime! The page I set up on my blog may help a little, but I took pretty extensive notes and saved them all while I was shifting everything because I knew I’d need them again. I did. Anyway, we can try to set up a time and if the time difference doesn’t cooperate then we can make do with email correspondence. One thing I just noticed on your homepage; the photo is really slow to load. A quick fix is to just delete it from the page and then add it back from your media archives- Talk to you soon! ~h
Thanks, Heather! I think I see an e-book in your future! Valuable info can save lots of time 🙂
Thank you CCU! I have a lot to still do. What a learning process!
Love the detailed photos. As a subscriber to your blog I usually receive the email from Foodie Affair in the address. This time it just said WordPress. Keep blogging!
Hmmm, wonder what’s going on with that! Thanks for letting mr know. I’ll have to look into that.
Mine came from Feedblitz, as usual. If it came from WordPress it has to do with the way the reader has suscribed; my mom is subscribed to my blog both ways and it gets her all confused lol.
I get confused with it all! Lol I just requested to have subscribers transferred from WordPress to my site – slow learning curve here!