Before I begin with today’s main event, please allow me to erm… brag a little, and also ask for your help…

A little over a month ago, I submitted my Chicken and Sundried Tomato Pasta recipe to Hostel Bookers Recipe Search for their Backpackers Recipe Guide.

Well, I am super excited to report that I made it to the next round. 😀

Out of all the recipes that were chosen, the 10 with the most “likes” will be made into a free Backpacker Recipe Guide for people to take on their travels.

Oh, how I would LOVE to have one of my recipes follow a bunch of different people on their travels around the world!

I’d really appreciate if you could all help make this happen for me by clicking on this link and liking the picture. (you have to be logged on to Facebook to be able to vote). Also feel free to share with your friends! 😉

Of course, I thank you very, very, very much for your help and support! 🙂

Now, as I was telling you the other day, I had some a whole lot of leftover cooked quinoa in the fridge and I decided to try using it in baked goods, just to see what would happen.

I was so excited with the results, I could barely wait to share them with you.

These muffins right here turned out absolutely fabulous. The combination of spelt flour and quinoa really gives them a nice, chewy yet super moist texture. They are not overly dense, but they are not all light and cakey either.

In fact, I think they are the perfect muffin consistency.

Also, I really wanted to keep the the sugar level down this time. I wanted to see if I could get away with using no sugar at all, other than that which is naturally present in the fruits, of course.

Hey, if I’m going to remove some of the guilt out of eating muffins, why not push the envelope one notch further and remove ALL of the guilt?

And you know what? It worked! These beauties didn’t need that sugar, at all.

They get all the sweetness that they need from all the various fruits and spices.

This is possibly my now favorite muffin recipe of all times. I know, I know, I always say that, but muffins have that effect on me. I always like the next one better than I did the last. 😉

So until I come up with a new muffin recipe, this one, right here, is the best muffin recipe in the whole wide world!

At least, it is to me! 😉

PUMPKIN, ZUCCHINI AND QUINOA MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS
(yelds 9 large muffins)

Dry

  • 2 cups spelt flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • ½ tsp ground clove

Wet

  • 1 large zucchini, grated
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 very ripe plantain
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 whole egg
  • ½ cup buttermilk

Extra goodies

  • ½ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat your oven to 425F and line your muffin pan with parchment paper “cups”, regular paper cups or coat with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk until well incorporated. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mash plantain with a fork until creamy. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined, then delicately fold in raisins and pumpkin seeds.
  4. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
  5. Bake for 5 minutes at initial temperature of 425F, then lower oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until tops look nice and crunchy and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and then place on on a wire rack until they reach room temperature.
  7. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.