Quinoa Veggie Bites – Superfood Snack for Kids
I stumbled on this recipe from years ago and I thought I would bring it back to the table. My kids are major snackers and I am always looking for a way to make snacks with a punch of protein and other goodness. The other bonus is that these quinoa veggie bites can be made gluten-free really easily so they are even a great busy morning breakfast for me! Enjoy!
I fell into a snack and lunch slump. This realization hit me hard between the eyes because of the following conversation I had with the Lil Man.
Me: What would you like to have for lunch today?
LM: Mac and Cheese
Me: I haven’t made any and we don’t have any Annie’s. Any other ideas?
LM: A quesadilla
Me: Well, we don’t have any tortillas. Anything else?
LM: Grilled cheese sandwich.
Me: Ya, it is time for us to change things up.
I realized I was stuck in a cheese rut. This wasn’t my usual MO, but we were in it and we were in it deep. I looked inside my fridge and one of the veggie compartments was filled with 3 different bags of cheese, plus two bricks. Yikes.
New day. New leaf. I have approximately 6 pounds of quinoa sitting in my pantry and I need to use it. We tried these quinoa bites today and the Lil Man suggested that we call them “Num Nums”. Alrighty then. He ate 6 and Lil Miss ate 2. I consider that a success.
The veggies combinations you can add in are numerous. I used kale, broccoli, and carrots. Other options might be peas, squash, spinach, chard, corn, or cauliflower. This is an easy way to use those leftover veggies from dinner the night before.
I served them up with some apple rings (use an apple corer to take out the core and then slice into thin slices). The kids ate two apples worth and had fun pretending they had apple eyes, apple ears, and apple noses. Who knew that cutting the fruit a different way would make it a renewed hit?
So here you go…ENJOY!
Quinoa Veggie Bites
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped veggies
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons flour All purpose or GF
- 1/2 tsp curry
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325.
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Put water and quinoa into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and keep covered for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and remove from heat.
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Grease a mini muffin pan with olive oil.
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In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except for salt and pepper. Mix well.
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Using a tablespoon, fill mini muffin pan cups. Press contents firmly into the base of the pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top.
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Bake for 15 minutes. To remove from pan, use a butter knife to slide around the edges if there is any sticking. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or plain!
Recipe Notes
Makes 24 bites
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