With all the 8 essential amino acids your body needs, quinoa is an impressive complete protein. Although it has only recently made its way onto the menus of trendy fare here in the US, its history dates all the way back to 3,000 B.C.E., where it was grown in the Andes. Now the grain that the ancient Incas called the “mother grain” is quickly making its way into healthy diets around the world.

Just why is quinoa good for you? Here are five excellent reasons:

– Quinoa is gluten-free.
– This particular grain contains more protein than any other grain, around 12-18%.
– It is an alkaline grain, which helps to balance the acidic foods that often make up a large part of our diets.
– Quinoa contains high amounts of magnesium, which helps with cardiovascular health.
– And talk about versatile; you can eat quinoa for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert.

Sound to good to be true as a dessert? Test out this gluten-free recipe and you’ll be just as amazed by the delicious qualities of quinoa as the healthy ones.

Quinoa Spice Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 large organic apple, peeled and diced
3 organic eggs
1 stick organic butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup organic raisins (optional)
dash of nutmeg or allspice
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract (or switch out for orange extract)

Cook quinoa and set aside. To cook quinoa, bring two cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa and a dash of salt and let simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until water has cooked off.

Mix dry ingredients.

Whisk butter and eggs together and add to dry mixture.

Combine all ingredients, including quinoa, and stir in apple pieces.

Pour into a greased 9-inch round pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350F.

The best part about this recipe? It tastes great with a multitude of extras thrown in. Play around with a handful of chocolate chips and some candied ginger for a real treat.

Note: This recipe works great for vegans too – just switch out the butter for margarine and the eggs for an egg replacer.

Images: Anna Brones, Anna Brones

The post Ecosalon Recipes: The Complete Protein Dessert: Delicious Quinoa Spice Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

I recently read somewhere that chocolate chip cookies are the top cookies in America. Now, I used to be in the “It’s not a cookie unless it’s a chocolate chip cookie” camp, but I’ve come around.

Oatmeal cookies are so much healthier and they have such a nice combination of chewiness and crunchiness. You can substitute any type of dried fruit you like in the quantities given below. (If you’re using large pieces, chop first and then measure.) And if you just can’t help yourself, you could even throw in some chocolate chips.

Oatmeal Harvest Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup currents
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined.

With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture until just combined. Fold in the almonds, oats, raisins, currents and cranberries.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and firm on top.

Image: indigotimbre

The post Ecosalon Recipes: Oatmeal Harvest Cookies appeared first on EcoSalon.