Double Chocolate Banana Quinoa Muffins.

Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Soy-free | Nut-free

Look who joined us a week and a half ago!

He’s just perfection. His big sisters are always asking to touch and kiss and look at him; I’ve never seen them so excited about washing their hands!

We’re in the midst of the sleep-deprived, nursing-round-the-clock newborn stage, and I don’t know how it is that I always forget with each kid just how ravenous I get when I’m nursing. Here’s what’s been getting me through the day (and night):

These banana muffins, made with gluten-free brown rice flour blend

These peanut butter balls – the oats and flaxseed are fantastic for milk supply!

My mom’s zucchini bread, in muffin form (recipe coming as soon as I get the gluten-free flours worked out!)

And of course, these new muffins. They’re inspired by this cake, which is quinoa-based and naturally gluten-free, and which we had for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year because we loved it so much. Quinoa is rich in protein, fiber, and iron, making it awesome for perpetually starving nursing moms, so I wanted to see if I could find a recipe that put the chocolate quinoa cake deliciousness into slightly-healthier muffin form. This one adds bananas for more vitamins and minerals, and removes the dairy! Wins all around! I decided to employ the cake recipe’s method of blending the quinoa until smooth in order to give the muffins that same delicious texture.

This recipe makes 1 dozen. Let’s just say I wish I’d doubled it right off the bat; they became such a fast family favorite, I don’t think there’ll be any left for me to snack on at 3am tonight!

Double Chocolate Banana Quinoa Muffins

Adapted from here

• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend of choice (I used King Arthur Measure for Measure–or use all-purpose flour if you don’t need gluten-free)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
• 2 large bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray the wells of a muffin tin with soy-free cooking spray.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk in white and brown sugars.
3. Place quinoa, bananas, eggs, and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Use a 1/4 cup triggered ice cream scoop to scoop batter into the prepared muffin tin.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
7. Allow to cool several minutes, then remove from the muffin tin to finish cooling.
8. Enjoy!