CheekyChicago

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. The rotation goes as follows: oatmeal with berries, hemp seeds and agave, buckwheat chocolate chip blueberry pancakes or a green smoothie. But, sometimes, I crave muffins. There’s nothing like a healthy muffin (this muffin is not glorified cake, I promise – though it tastes like it) and a giant cup of Peet’s coffee to start the day off right.

So grab a few ingredients and 20 minutes to a delicious, hearty start to your day (or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up).

Quinoa Cranberry Walnut Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or a healthier flour of your choice that bakes well)

2/3 cup raw sugar, Sucanat or 1/2 cup agave

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup creamy natural cashew butter (or almond, sunflower, soy or peanut)

2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. soy or other nondairy milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

1/2 cup cranberries

1/3 cup walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar (do not mix in agave here, if you are using it in place of the sugar), baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the cashew butter, milk, agave (if you’re using it here) and vanilla.

3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, being careful not to over mix. Fold in the quinoa, cranberries and walnuts. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

4. Let cool in a wire rack.

How about some nondairy ice cream to go with that muffin? Please click here. How about some lifestyle reading? Please click here.

To read more about Rea Frey and why she is so Cheeky, please click here.