Quinoa Snack

Quinoa, Apricot and Nut Clusters

Makes 20

1½ cups water

¾ cup white quinoa, rinsed and drained

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

½ cup raw shelled sunflower seeds

½ cup raw shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 cup unsulfured, dried apricots, thinly sliced

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil

1½ teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs, plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa; return to a boil. Stir once; cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until quinoa is slightly underdone and has absorbed most of the liquid, 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer quinoa to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, fluffing with a fork occasionally, until pale golden, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; let cool.

2. Spread oats evenly on a baking sheet; bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Add oats to quinoa. Spread seeds on baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 7 minutes. Add to quinoa; let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

3. Toss nuts, apricots, sugar and salt with quinoa mixture. Mix honey, oil and vanilla into eggs; stir into quinoa mixture.

4.

Line a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper; lightly coat with cooking spray. For each cluster, place ¼ cup mixture onto sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Flatten to ¼-inch thick. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store loosely covered with aluminum foil up to 2 days.

-- "Power Foods" by the editors of Whole Living Magazine (Clarkson Potter, 384 pp., $24.99)

Per 2-cluster serving: 329 calories, 10.6 g fat (3.4 g saturated), 42 mg cholesterol, 49 g carbohydrates, 10 g protein, 5 g fiber, 139 mg sodium.