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quinoa

Cooked Quinoa Flatbreads ~from leftover quinoa! {V, GF}

Ever make too much quinoa? I found myself with about 3 cups of leftover Summer Rainbow Quinoa Salad after a recent event. How many times in a row can you eat the same salad before you get sick of it?

It was either come up with a new way to use the leftover quinoa or throw it out. I don’t like to waste food and I am a big fan of making crackers out of leftover grains… so could I use a grain that had veggies in it? Why not. My Kale and Beet Crackers and Sweet Potato Flatbreads are fabulous and are fueled with fiber.

I’m pretty darn excited about these Quinoa Flatbreads for using up leftover food and creating a fun, gluten-free flatbread that could be used as a sandwich, a pizza crust, as a naan bread or just slathered with ghee. Bonus, I took half of the dough, rolled it thinner and baked it into a delightful cracker!
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Cooked Quinoa Flatbreads ~from leftover quinoa!

1 cup cooked quinoa -> you can even use a quinoa salad with veggies (I used my Rainbow Quinoa Salad which has quinoa, peppers, cucumbers and cabbage, see a photo of the salad below)
1 tbls chia seeds
1/2 cup white rice flour + extra to roll
1 tbls olive oil
1/4 tsp fine pink salt

Place the cooked quinoa, chia seeds, salt and olive oil in a food processor (I use this mini one), and process to remove any large chunks and create a smoother texture.

Add the rice flour, and process to create a sticky ball. More or less flour may be needed based on how ‘wet’ your cooked quinoa is. Add a spoonful of water if the dough is too thick or a spoon of flour if too thin.

Two ways to cook:

  1. Preheat a cast iron griddle or skillet or preferred pan to medium heat. Cut into 8 sections. Place a section onto a well-floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper. Lightly pat one of the sections into a round disk, about 1/8″ thick. Use a spatula (this fish spatula works awesome here) to scoop up and transfer to the hot pan. Cook on each side until lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut into 8 sections. Place a section onto a well-floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper. Lightly pat or roll one of the sections into a round disk, about 1/8″ thick. Carefully peel the top parchment away. Sprinkle with flaky salt if desired. Bake until desired texture is reached: ~20 minutes for a flexible flatbread, ~35 minutes for crackers.

I used leftover Summer Quinoa Rainbow Salad to make these Quinoa Flatbreads!

Summer Rainbow Quinoa Salad {gf, v}

Chop up the summer rainbow 🌈and eat it in this easy, delightful summer salad.

I typically serve this over a bed of lettuce with an 🥑and some fea …..just forgot when I was rushing to film the snippets before a work call. 🙄

This makes a large batch to feed a crowd; I made it for our Sunset Yoga class on the roof deck! Adjust to your needs and liking, but here’s the quick details are below.
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Summer Rainbow Quinoa Salad

1 English Cucumber
1 Yellow pepper
1 Orange pepper
1 Zucchini
1/2 Red onion
1/4 Red cabbage
1-2 cups cooked quinoa

1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp mustard
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Handful of chopped herbs
pinch of pink salt & black pepper

Toppings (don’t skip!): Avocado, toasted pepitas and feta

Chop the veggies and whisk the dressing. Toss all to combine.
Serve over lettuce.

Top with toasted pepitas, crumbled feta and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

roasted orange vegetable salad over quinoa slaw

This is ‘Eat the Rainbow’ served up on a platter! It’s gorgeous, nutritious and downright scrumptious! Roasting vegetables with orange segments is genius, they flavor the veg and become deeply sweet in process.

This Roasted Orange Vegetable Salad with Quinoa Slaw might be my new favorite platter meal!
Happy Eating
~Monique

Roasted Orange Vegetable Salad

1 package of pre-cut slaw; ie. kale & broccoli slaw or plain broccoli slaw
1  cup dry quinoa + 2 cups water
3 tbls ghee, grass-fed butter or olive oil
1 tsp veggie or Italian seasoning 
1 head broccoli
+ Other veggies to roast, such as: 2 carrots, 1 sweet potato & 1/4 cabbage (choose what you like to eat)
3 large cloves garlic
1 orange
1 tsp Himalyan pink salt
½ cup slivered almonds or pumpkin seeds
Optional: crumbled feta or goat cheese (choose DF options accordingly)

Directions: Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Smash the garlic cloves, set aside. Break the broccoli into florets. Slice other veggies. Toss veggies with 1 tablespoon oil in an oven-proof dish. Slice orange, toss with the veggies. Sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Mince the garlic, toss over the veggies and roast for another 10 minutes.

Melt 1 tablespoon ghee in a stovetop pan. Add two big handfuls of slaw into the pan and the seasoning, saute for 1 minute.

Make the QUINOA SLAW: Rinse the quinoa, add to the pan along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a low simmer. At 10 minutes turn off the heat and let sit.

In a small skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee. Add the slivered almonds, simmer till golden brown. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Stir in another two cups of the slaw to the cooked quinoa. Taste, adjust seasoning as needed. Note: this Quinoa Slaw is great on its own topped with the toasted nuts and seeds.

Arrange with roasted veggie onto a platter, spoon on the quinoa. Top with half of the toasted slivered almonds/pepitas and cheese (if using).

Warm Quinoa Orange Salad

A Photo definition of ‘Eat the Rainbow’!!

Gluten Free Chai Granola

Gluten and Refined-Sugar Free Chai Granola

1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1 tbls chia seeds
2 tbls coconut oil
2 tbls maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla
pinch or two of flaky sea salt
Parchment Paper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Melt the coconut oil. Stir in the maple syrup, seasonings, vanilla, and orange zest.

Toss with all the remaining ingredients, except the salt. Pour on the parchment lined cookie sheet and spread into a single layer. Sprinkle just a pinch or two of flaky sea salt.

Bake until just lightly golden brown, 10-20 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, you may want to mix it about at 10 minutes.

The granola will harden as it cools.

GF Quinoa Granola

See our video recipe on our You Tube Channel.

vegan GF chocolate chip cookie

Sorghum flour is the gluten free flour you probably haven’t heard of. Today is the day you should cook with it. Think of sorghum as the wheat flour of the gluten free world.
These cookies are the bomb with sorghum flour and nut butter. And they freeze awesome. Don’t delay, get cookie’ing.
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

1/4 cup brazil nut butter
3 tbls maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tbls ground flax + 2.5 tbls water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup toasted quinoa flakes
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

-> Mix the flax with the water and set aside for 20 minutes
-> Whisk together the quinoa flakes, the baking powder, sorghum flour, salt and cinnamon
-> Mix the nut butter, maple syrup vanilla and flax
-> Mix together the dry with the wet, stir in the chocolate chips
Mix all the ingredients together.

->Scoop onto the sheet pan and bake for about 12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Let cool.

Note: Makes between 6-9 cookies, depending on the size.
These store great in the freezer!
The batter is actually kind of interesting fried like a pancake.