Tropical Quinoa Parfait

With all of the treats I have been having lately I figured I better try to slip something healthy into my repertoire. Don't get me wrong though.... I still want treats.

I came up with this parfait which, I think, is a perfect combination of healthy and treat.

Okay...maybe not perfect but it was really good and, according to Fitday , it is about 230 calories, 8 gr fat, 30 carbs, and 8 gr protein. I'd say that's fairly healthy for breakfast or afternoon snack.

Plus.... it contains vitamin C, B12, iron, fibre, and calcium.

I've made this several times already and substituted mashed banana for the pineapple and also mashed strawberries. They were equally as tasty but, of course, the nutritional values would change with the different fruit. I've also made 2 and let one sit, covered, in the fridge overnight and it was good to take to work for breakfast the next day.

This recipe makes 1 parfait, by the way, but can easily be doubled.

Tropical Quinoa Parfait

Ingredients

Coconut Oat Crumble

2 Tbsp rolled oats

1 Tbsp coconut

1 tsp butter

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp pecans, chopped

3 Tbsp quinoa, not cooked

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp brown sugar

4 Tbsp Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together Coconut Oat Crumble ingredients and sprinkle into a pie pan. Bake at 350 for 5 - 10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Cook quinoa according to package directions. (For 3 Tbsp quinoa you want to cook it in a small saucepan with 6 Tbsp water) When it is cooked, remove from heat, add cinnamon and brown sugar, set aside to cool.

When your crumble and quinoa have completely cooled, (place in fridge to speed process) you can assemble your parfait.

1.) Spoon 2 Tbsp yogurt into bottom of glass.

2.) Spoon 2 Tbsp quinoa onto yogurt.

3.) Spoon 1/2 of the crushed pineapple (or whichever fruit you are using)

4.) Spoon 1/2 of the Coconut Oat crumble

Repeat layers one more time.

You may have a little quinoa left over if you measure out the 4 Tbsp for your parfait. You can throw that into a soup or salad, or pretty much anything - or you can use it up in your parfait but it will change the nutritional count.

There you have it.

Healthy but still feels like a treat.

That's something I could get used to.