Quinoa Baked Apples

These Quinoa Baked Apples combine the best flavors of fall into a healthy treat that works just as well for breakfast as it does for dessert.

There is a lot NOT to like about getting older.

Grey hair for one.

How hard you feel it the next day when you say up way too late just because you are having fun is another.

Lately though, I've been thinking about some of the great things about getting older.

(Yes, I just said that.)

When I think back to what I was ten years ago, I realize how much more complete I am. How much more I have to offer. And how much better I like who I am and where I am at in life. I still have a lot of work to do but I'm surprisingly more comfortable with this that I once was.

You know another thing I really love? The simple things are so much more beautiful than they were a decade ago when I was still had a "bigger, better, faster, MORE!" mentality.

Last week, two mornings reminded me of this.

The first was such a simple celebration of life and family.

We all were awake early and the weather was surprisingly cool. Even though it is October we have been battling with the "Is Skye going to be too hot at the beach?" issue and as a result most of our visits have been in the late afternoon and evening when the humidity is lower. We took advantage of the weather and went on a walk on the beach for over an hour. The boys played in the surf along side us as we walked and Skye napped in her sling. We were back at the house before 8:30am and on a whim I decided to whip up pancakes for the boys. (All 3 of them!) It was deemed by little people and big people alike the best morning ever. Not because we did anything truly amazing, just because we were together and happy as a family, grateful for both where we were and each other.

I wouldn't trade times like that for all the fancy dinners at 5 star restaurants that my 20's and early 30's were filled with.

The next morning, the boys slept in. Skye was up way too early, especially given that mom and dad may have enjoyed the prior evenings festivities a bit too much. (See point two about things that stink when you get older.) After we realized that bribing her with ponies and puppies was in fact not going to be successful in convincing her to go back to sleep, we brought her into bed with us. Our groggy, bleary-eyed, please God can I just get another half hour of sleep, to her all smiles, giggles and wiggles. Tugging my hair, giving Daddy her "I love you" eyes. Snuggled in between us, babbling endlessly as if we must know exactly what she is saying. Tired as I was, her perfection was overwhelming. Captivating.

Simple. Perfect. Moments.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't say no to a spa vacation should the opportunity arise.

But given the choice between the two, I'd take a life filled with the perfect simplicity of now any day.

You know what else is simple and perfect? Baked Apples in the fall. This is a great one from my Gluten Free Quinoa Cookbook. Hope you enjoy.

If You Like These Quinoa Baked Apples You May Also Like:

• Apple Pecan Quinoa Breakfast
• Butternut Apple Arugula Salad with Balsamic Dressing
• Gluten Free Apple Crisp
• Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Bread

Quinoa Baked Apples

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Quinoa Baked Apples

Ingredients 6 baking apples (Like Golden Delicious or Granny Smith) ¼ cup cooked quinoa 2 tablespoons rolled oats ¼ cup chopped walnuts ¼ cup coconut palm sugar 1 tablespoon toasted quinoa flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons Earth Balance or Butter 1 cup apple juice

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Gluten Free, Quinoa

Servings: 6

Calories: 231kcal

Author: Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 6 baking apples Like Golden Delicious or Granny Smith
• ¼ cup cooked quinoa
• 2 tablespoons rolled oats
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon toasted quinoa flour
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Butter or earth balance
• 1 cup apple juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Using an apple corer or paring knife, remove cores of apples to ½ inch of the bottoms of the apples. Make the holes wide enough for stuffing.
• In a small bowl mix quinoa, rolled oats, walnuts, palm sugar, quinoa flour and cinnamon.
• Stuff cored apples with quinoa mixture. Place in a casserole dish and dot with Earth Balance or butter. Pour apple juice in the bottom of the dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving and top with ice cream or yogurt if desired.

Notes

Servings 6, Calories 229, Fat 7.6g, Carbohydrates 41.8g, Protein 2.4g, Cholesterol 10mg, Sodium 49mg, Giver 5.2g, Sugars 29.5g

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 52mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.7mg