Mom Works It Out by Angela Gillis

Blueberry Quinoa Bars

A couple of weeks ago we had an abundance of quinoa in our house so I wanted to find different things to do with that stuff. There’s only one place to go when you want to get experimental: pintrest! I searched for quinoa things and found plenty of things. Instead of going the savory route, I wanted to go sweet for this super protein food. The whole point of this project was for us to use some protein powder in the pantry, but guess what? I forgot to put it in. This would have had a SUPER protein punch if I would have remembered. My recipe is adapted from gninethree! I changed the recipe because I simply didn’t have some of the stuff in the house and I wanted to make some healthier substitutions.

Blueberry quinoa bars

 

Blueberry Quinoa Bars
Author: Angela
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa flakes
  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used splenda blend)
  • 1/2 unsweetened applesauce
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350
  2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
  3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and mix batter until smooth.
  4. Fold blueberries into the batter.
  5. Once batter is complete, pour into a 9 x 13 cake pan and distribute batter evenly in the pan.
  6. Bake on the center rack for 35 – 40 minutes until edges are golden brown and the center is firm to the touch.
  7. Let cool and cut into 24 bars.
Serving size: 1 bar Calories: 62 Fat: 0.3 Saturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 11.5 Sugar: 4.7 Sodium: 7 Fiber: 1 Protein: 1.8 Cholesterol: 0.1

Important note:  These need to be stored in an airtight container and only keep for 3 days.  I kept mine in the fridge to extend the life but it was only for one more day.  Airtight containers are very important for things that are made with applesauce.

If you look at the nutritional information you see the protein value is really low and that is why I wanted to add some protein powder to the mix.  This was a first time go at this recipe and there are definitely some things I would like to try another time around.  You’ll be seeing these bars again in a different variation to give it more of a nutritional push!

Do you have any suggestions on what to add to these bars?  What mix would you like to see?