Sweet Potato Quinoa Bake

This is heaven. Seriously. I've made it 3 weeks running and while I'm trying to take a week off this week out of fear I'll grow sick of it, I'm already craving my next batch. 

Perfect for a cold day. Hearty and filling but not in that "oh my fat belly" kind of way. A ton of possible variations (I'll update once I try some but for now I'm still loving the basic version.) 

You should try it. Even if you're not a quinoa fan and I'm not. Quinoa haters of the world, I promise, you won't notice any graininess on the quinoa. The flavor and moistness more than compensate for any quinoa drawbacks.  

Let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

2 green apples, diced

1 tsp cinnamon

1 can sweet potato puree (or pumpkin)

2 eggs

2 c. non-dairy milk (I prefer coconut or almond)

1/4 c. vanilla protein powder (or vanilla Shakeology)

1 c. uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Non-stick cooking spray (to lightly spray the pan)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x9 baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet potato puree, eggs, milk, cinnamon and protein powder. Whisk until evenly combined.

3. Fold the chopped apples into the wet mixture.

4. Spread the rinsed quinoa on the bottom of the baking pan and sprinkle raisins on top.

5. Pour the sweet potato mixture onto the quinoa/raisins. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top.

6. Bake at 350 for an hour and 15 minutes, or until the center is cooked.

Drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy! Makes about 8 decent-sized servings.