Leftover quinoa from dinner. I thought about saving it to add to a salad the next day, or keep to stir into a vegetable and protein based stew or chilli, but do you know what? I wanted to be a bit more adventurous, a little more quirky.
I’ve seen quinoa pop up a few times as an ingredient for sweet dishes, whether partnered up with oats or alone as the main grain, usually as a breakfast or dessert. As I’m currently obsessed with all things mixed spice, cinnamon and carrot, I thought I’d make a protein-packed ‘carrot cake’ style layered pot, making it a perfect post workout refuel option to be enjoyed in the morning or as a healthy treat after dinner.
Ingredients:
- 25g cooked quinoa
- 2 small carrots, grated
- 1 scoop PhD Woman Vanilla Exercise Support protein powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Jordan’s skinny syrup (vanilla + almond)
- 4 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tbsp 0% Greek yogurt
Spoon the cooled, cooked quinoa into a jar and stir in the carrots, mixed spice and protein powder. Now pour in the vanilla extract, syrup and milk and stir well until you have a thick, porridge-like consistency. Add the yogurt on top and leave in the fridge.
For the granola (makes a big batch):
- 1 cup rolled oats (I used Mornflake)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp date nectar (I used Beloved Dates)
- 1 tbsp nut butter
- 1 scoop PhD Woman Vanilla Exercise Support protein powder
- 2 tbsp flaxseeds (I used Linwoods)
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. In a bowl combine the oats, cinnamon, raisins, protein powder and flaxseeds. Melt the coconut oil, syrup and nut butter in a small pan on a low heat. Leave to cool a little then pour into the dry oat mixture, stirring well until a little crumbly and sticky. Spread out on baking tray, then bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden and a little crunchy – leave to cool.
Now sprinkle a generous portion of this on top to finish off your carrot cake breakfast or dessert perfectly!