Carrot Cake Quinoa ‘Porridge’ Protein Pot

Leftover quinoa from dinner. I thought about saving it to add to a salad the next day, or keep to stir into a vegetable and protein based stew or chilli, but do you know what? I wanted to be a bit more adventurous, a little more quirky.

I’ve seen quinoa pop up a few times as an ingredient for sweet dishes, whether partnered up with oats or alone as the main grain, usually as a breakfast or dessert. As I’m currently obsessed with all things mixed spice, cinnamon and carrot, I thought I’d make a protein-packed ‘carrot cake’ style layered pot, making it a perfect post workout refuel option to be enjoyed in the morning or as a healthy treat after dinner.

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Ingredients:

  • 25g cooked quinoa
  • 2 small carrots, grated
  • 1 scoop PhD Woman Vanilla Exercise Support protein powder
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Jordan’s skinny syrup (vanilla + almond)
  • 4 tbsp almond milk
  • 2 tbsp 0% Greek yogurt

Spoon the cooled, cooked quinoa into a jar and stir in the carrots, mixed spice and protein powder. Now pour in the vanilla extract, syrup and milk and stir well until you have a thick, porridge-like consistency. Add the yogurt on top and leave in the fridge.

For the granola (makes a big batch):

  • 1 cup rolled oats (I used Mornflake)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp date nectar (I used Beloved Dates)
  • 1 tbsp nut butter
  • 1 scoop PhD Woman Vanilla Exercise Support protein powder
  • 2 tbsp flaxseeds (I used Linwoods)

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. In a bowl combine the oats, cinnamon, raisins, protein powder and flaxseeds. Melt the coconut oil, syrup and nut butter in a small pan on a low heat. Leave to cool a little then pour into the dry oat mixture, stirring well until a little crumbly and sticky. Spread out on baking tray, then bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden and a little crunchy – leave to cool.

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Now sprinkle a generous portion of this on top to finish off your carrot cake breakfast or dessert perfectly!

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