Quinoa Vanilla Mousse

Just go with me here.  My brain has been going crazy lately with ideas.  Do you ever get that way when you are looking for something different?  Seriously, I am an oatmeal freak and I am not afraid to eat it all the time (as HEAB pointed out, woman, you know I love the stuff!).  I am trying to branch out on my grains.  I know, step back...I am crazy!  However, I know it is extremely important to get all of your nutrients through your diet.  I am a firm believer that there needs to be a balance in your diet.  Since I don't eat meat or soy, I do a lot of research on healthy food sources that are high in protein.  This past summer I fell in love with quinoa.  After reading about the health benefits of quinoa, I was sold!  Not only is it a great source of protein, but it is a complete protein.  Which means it contains all nice essential amino acids.  One of which is lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair.  Since I am an avid exerciser, this is really important to me.  When I took the leap into not eating meat any more, I discovered so many great ways to get the protein I need.  In fact I eat more protein now than I ever did before and I feel so much better!  I actually feel stronger!  

Quinoa Vanilla Mousse
1 cup cooked quinoa
17 grams vanilla protein powder (I have a sample packet of Sun Warrior Rice Protein)
1/4 cup almond milk
10 drops NuNaturals vanilla stevia (I love this stuff)

Puree everything in a food processor until smooth.  Scrape down in the middle of processing to make sure everything gets mixed in.  (Can be eaten hot or cold...I heated it up to go in the jar, it made the peanut butter all warm and swirled throughout the mousse!  So good! 

This recipe is very versatile, you can use as much of the protein powder as you like.  I was just testing things out for the first time.

This stuff is so good!  I had no idea what to expect.  I really did not think that it would get so smooth and creamy, but it did!  You can add more milk if you want it a little thinner, but I liked it just like this!  My husband and oldest son said that is looked like peanut butter.  That reminded me...I had an almost empty jar of peanut butter that I was saving for some oats...this was perfect!  The peanut butter was a perfect addition!

I recieved a sample packet from Sun Warrior after I contacted them inquiring about their product.  Protein powders are pretty expensive and I wanted to try a little before I forked out that kind of money on something I was going to have to choke down.  I know this is going to shock a lot of you, but this was my first taste of protein powder.  I really have no frame of reference as to what they should or do taste like.  I liked this one.  It had a nice vanilla flavor and it really added some good nutrition to my already nutrient filled mousse.  I also like that it is gluten, soy and dairy free so my husband and I can use the same product.  If anyone has any other suggestions on their favorites...let me know.  I know a very popular one is Jay Robb, which I am going to try next.