Recipe of the Week: Quinoa Coconut Bars

{credit: the10centdiet}

If you have never had quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you're in for a real treat! Quinoa is a super grain found by the Ancient Incas and it's known as a super protein. Since my daughter & I don't digest meat proteins well at all, I have to make sure we get enough proteins from other sources... quinoa is one of my faves!

Quinoa is also super cheap, which tickles me to pieces. I love that I can buy loads of it (in Sprouts' bulk bins) for under $5.... but the fact that it's very healthy and gluten-free scores big points in my book.

It cooks up like rice or couscous and is very tasty as a warm side dish with veggies or even as a cold salad with some fruit. One of the funnest ways I've been able to incorporate quinoa into our daily routines is to make "protein bars" with it.

I first came across this recipe for Coconut Quinoa Bars on the 10centdiet blog and thought it was perfect! Gluten-free, dairy-free, cane sugar free, no processed flour.... and with quinoa! We have made several varieties, tweaking it with various dried fruits and nuts to suit our taste buds. We're not so much peanut fans, so we sub out those for walnuts and we add a bit more agave syrup or honey to ours (helps bind them better) and I also sprinkle in some ground flax seed to give an Omega-3 kick. These are perfect for breakfast or snacks -- they even freeze well!

Go HERE to check out the recipe on The 10 Cent Diet Blog and HERE to see a slightly sweeter Quinoa bar from Choosy Beggars.

{credit: choosybeggars}