Deceitfully Delicious "Tapioca" Pudding

 I've been a cookbook and recipe addict since I could read. So much so that my grandmother used to clip the Kid Kitchen recipes out of the Sunday Morning Funnies for me. I still have a binder full of those recipes, such as banana toast and berry smoothies.  I could sit for hours and read creations and stare in awe at yummy food pictures. I guess I just soaked it all in.  I still do!

Well I'm all for trying new and heathy creations for my family, especially when it comes to new and healthy desserts.  One recipe I recently came across was for a pudding with quinoa added to the mix. I thought, hmm, 'protein, fiber, and it's a mock  tapioca'.  Works for me.  I wondered if it would work for my picky family, including my finicky shark who absolutely loves tapioca pudding!  

So I headed to the kitchen and this is what I created. I made this version for myself, because as much of a milk addict I was with my third baby, I somehow became lactose intolerant within a year after his birth-boo.  Well, although I made this for myself, I asked my family who was sitting on the couch enjoying their Sunday afternoon to taste it-and I never saw it again after that.  My husband and two of my boys literally fought over it.  (My other boy was playing next door, or he may have been in the mix too!)

Non-Tapioca, Non-Dairy Vanilla Pudding Parfait

2 1/4 cups soy milk (regular skim milk may be used)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 whole eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tb cornstarch

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 small bananas, sliced

1 cup raspberries

Combine sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan.  Gently whisk in soy milk, eggs and vanilla.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to bubble, about 10 minutes.  Stir one to two minutes more after bubbling begins to allow mixture to thicken.  Remove from heat.  Stir in quinoa. 

Let cool covered in plastic wrap in refrigerator or serve immediately. Tip: lay plastic wrap directly on pudding surface to prevent a "skin" from forming. 

Layer each of 4 parfait glasses with 1/2 cup pudding, 1/4 of one banana, 2 Tb raspberries and repeat.  

Yield 1 cup pudding, 1/2 banana and 1/4 cup raspberries per serving. 

This was all I got out of the remaining pudding-a snack for today's lunch.  And no one was the wiser that this was full of healthy protein packed quinoa.  ;-)

Enjoy!