Healthier Baked Jalapeno Popper Bites with Quinoa
I was lucky enough to grow up all over the world, so the thought of trying new foods has always appealed to me. And man, do I like spicy things, especially food with fresh jalapenos. What I like most about a mini baked jalapeno popper is how easy they are to make and then reheat.
It’s okay if you are a bit hesitant to try this, heck - I call myself a world traveler, and I didn’t start eating quinoa regularly until I was in my forties. For me, the key to quinoa is cooking it with bullion or broth instead of boiling it in water. I also like to eat quinoa with something. When it stands alone, the texture doesn’t appeal to me.
It’s so nice to be able to take what is considered a favorite party food and turn it into a healthier bite-sized finger food. A baked jalapeno popper quinoa cup may become one of your favorite appetizers or snacks, and there is no need to feel guilty about it. As adults, we like our healthy snacks too and this is a spicy, cheesy, energizing snack
Hand Portions for a baked Jalapeno Popper
Balanced Heakthstyles always includes the hand portion calculation in our recipes. Check them out toward the bottom of the page. Using the hand portion method is a simple way to ensure that you are eating portions of food that match your health goals. So what category do the ingredients in a baked jalapeno popper fall into if you were using hand portion size to track your food?
What's cool about using hand portions is that it allows people who don't want to spend too much effort planning, tracking, and measuring out their meals to follow it without having to worry about counting calories.
When you get the hang of looking to your hand for guidance on how many portions of protein (palm size), vegetable (fist size), carbs (cupped hand size) and fat (thumb size) you can start looking at mixed recipes to get a feel for where they will fall into your macros based on your hand size.
If you are interested in learning more about tracking your food using the hand portion method, you’ll love these articles How to get started with Hand Portion Sizes and Healthy Portions: Your hand size can tell you how much to eat. Most of the coaches who write for Balanced Healthstyles are well versed on hand portions and can help you out.
A Few Bonus Notes
What to serve this with? Carrots, celery and a mocktail are great compliments to this spicy, bite-sized snack.
To reheat a baked jalapeno popper, I like to put it in the air fryer.
Mealtime conversation starters
When communication is a priority, everything else seems to fall into place. As you enjoy your recipe, as the people around you this question. And if you get some answers you would like to share with us, we invite you to write to us about them. An easy way to let us know about your answers would be to use the comment section at the bottom of this recipe.
Where would you most like to travel?
Baked Jalapeno Popper Quinoa Bites
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Equipment
Ingredients
For quinoa
- ¾ cup quinoa rinsed
- 1½ cups water or broth, I added chicken bullion
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
For baked jalapeno poppers
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- ½ cup jalapeno peppers seeded, and finely chopped
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp low fat cream cheese or neufchâtel, cut into small pieces
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack, (I added whatever cheese was open and needed using in the fridge)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, cook quinoa according to package directions. Let cool.
- While quinoa is cooking, prepare baked jalaenpo popper ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine eggs, onion, peppers, garlic, cream cheese, cheese and cooled quinoa.
- Put a heaping tablespoonful of quinoa mixture into muffin tins.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until edges turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Video
Hand Size Portions
Michelle Johnson Jerome is an expert on busting through perfectionism. She is passionate about helping others live life with purpose and joy. By drawing on her extensive experience as a nutrition coach, personal trainer, and yoga instructor she helps develop a realistic approach to goal setting that allows you to make progress and stop obsessing over mistakes.
Find other articles written by Michelle on her coach profile. Discover your "easy button": learn how to manage life's unpleasant parts so you can move forward, reach your goals, and live your best life.
