Strawberry Banana Quinoa Muffins

It's only Wednesday night here at the Trippet house, and yet I feel like I have crammed 7 days of stress into three. The life of this working, solo parent makes for crazy days. Couple that with the insane stress at work, and I have found my head spinning. As a result, I have been on the hunt for an stress outlet. This has led to some tough sessions at the gym (don't punch me in the arm, I might faint), some hard, quick runs (my hip flexor is crying out in pain),  and of course cooking. What goes best for a sore, pressed for time, stressed out, 34 year old body and is still kid friendly? Protein packed breakfast muffins of course (veganized from this Poor Girl Eats Well recipe!

Strawberry Banana Quinoa Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/3 c quinoa flour (or whole wheat pastry flour. You can also use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All purpose flour to make this a Gluten Free recipe )
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c turbinado sugar
1 tbsp black strap molasses
2 egg replacers (2 tbsp of ground flax or chia seed combined with 6 tbsp of hot water)***
2 T melted Earth balance
1 t vanilla extract
2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
1 c cooked quinoa
1 c finely chopped fresh organic strawberries
1-2 strawberries, thinly sliced (optional for garnish)
Directions
1.  Preheat the oven to 375°.  Prepare a muffin or cupcake tin with cooking spray or muffin liners.  In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.  In a separate, larger bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, egg replacer (flax or chia mixture). black strap molasses, & vanilla and whisk until smooth.  Mix in the dry flour mixture a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring together until completely incorporated.
2.  When all the flour has been mixed in, add the mashed bananas and the quinoa, and mix well.  Add the chopped strawberries (juice & all!) and fold into the muffin batter.  Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.  Place one strawberry slice on top of each muffin, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
3.  Remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes before removing muffins from pan.  Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, or until ready to serve. 

 *** when using ground flax or ground chia as an egg replacer, make sure that you mix with hot water to create a binding effect. And, as always, use all organic ingredients where you can.

This recipe makes 12 muffins. Enjoy your powered up breakfast!

Nutrient Round up:
Quinoa: A good source of Protein, Fiber, Folate, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Manganese.
Flax/Chia: good source of Omega 3, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Thiamin and Manganese.
Black Strap Molasses: excellent source of manganese and copper. It is a very good source of iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6 and selenium.
Strawberry: good source of Folate and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Manganese.
Banana: good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6