quinoa

Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe

April 28, 2017

Quinoa is kind of amazing, isn’t it? It’s a grain…or is it? Is it a seed? I don’t know. All I know is that is a super food. Like throw some tights and a cape on that stuff kind of super.

It’s one of my favorite things to make along with some chicken or salmon for a quick and healthy dinner. But sometimes it can be kind of bland. Which is what makes it the perfect canvas for a tabbouleh!

Tabbouleh is a traditional Middle Eastern chopped veggie salad that can be made with a variety of ingredients from parsley to mint, cucumbers to tomatoes. But the true star of the show is parsley. If you don’t like parsley, then you probably won’t like this recipe.

Just telling it like it is.

For my tabbouleh, I kept things simple with parsley, tomatoes, red onion, and lemon juice along with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Normally I would say just chop up a tomato, onion, and parsley and toss it in the quinoa. But onions can come in lots of sizes and I don’t want you to go overboard with the onion…or the parsley.

Once all the veggies are chopped up (I can’t believe I am about to say this…), measure them. I’m not a bit measuring person when it comes to throwing a dinner together. Most of the time I do, since I now I will have to publish the recipe. But a little part of me dies every time. I am more of a “pinch of this, dash of that” kind of girl.

Add your measured veggies to the quinoa. Or don’t. Live life on the edge and throw the whole tomato in there. No one will know except you.

Then toss everything together with a bit of a lemon juice-olive oil dressing.

Now you could eat it right away. But I would implore (you know I’m serious when I go to the thesaurus to look up synonyms for “urge”) you to let it rest for at least 10 minutes. You want that lemon juice and olive oil to marinate, bathe, steep (sorry, took it too far with the thesaurus) the rest of the salad. It will help take the bite out of the onion and soften the parsley.

This bright and fresh quinoa salad makes the prefect healthy side dish for anything from some delicious chicken (like my favorite Chicken Doner), steak, fish, or even just on it’s own!

Remember how I said quinoa was the super hero of all grains (or something like that). What makes it so great is that it’s a complete protein. I think it might be one of the only grains/cereals that is a complete protein (don’t quote me on that…I can be wrong sometimes). That means that you can eat this salad all on it’s on and get just about everything you need, nutritionally.

Told you quinoa was pretty super!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:154]

Blueberry Quinoa Muffins

February 8, 2017

A couple years ago I posted this recipe for blueberry quinoa muffins. Even back then when I could count my blog readers on one hand, the recipe took off on Pinterest. Even today, it’s one of my most saved Pins. Who would have thought?

I have gotten some feedback on the old recipe from a few people. But since I haven’t made the recipe in a while, I didn’t really feel I could offer much advice (or come to my own defense!). It was time to go back to the drawing boards and retry the recipe!

A couple people mentioned that the original recipe resulted in soggy muffins. Who wants a wants a soggy muffin? Definitely not this girl, so clearly something had to change. The first thing I thing I did differently was blend half the quinoa into a flour to mix with the rest of the dry ingredients.

I cooked the rest of the quinoa, just like in the original recipe, but this time I used milk! While this also helped reduce the sogginess, it also had another unintended consequence. A good consequence, I should add! You know that distinct nutty flavor quinoa has? Well the milk really helped tame that flavor a bit. And let’s be honest, no one is out there craving a muffin that tastes like quinoa.

Other than these couple steps, I didn’t change a whole lot else about the recipe. I mixed the quinoa flour with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, and baking powder. To that I mixed in all the wet ingredients – the remaining milk, apple sauce, eggs, and coconut oil – until it formed a thick batter. That’s when I folded in the cooked quinoa.

Now these blueberry quinoa muffins wouldn’t be blueberry quinoa muffins without blueberries. Actually, they don’t have to be blueberry muffins. They can be any berry you want, or no berry at all. But I wanted to go with the classic blueberry! So I mixed the clean blueberries into the batter until they were evenly dispersed throughout. I would recommend, however, that you toss the berries in a bit of flour before mixing in (unlike me). This will help prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of your muffins.

After a quick bake, these muffins were ready to be scrounged up. You might think from the photo above that I artistically arranged the muffin tin so that I could highlight both the blueberries and the quinoa. Nope. I just had some muffin tins to fill after eating a couple muffins before I could remember to take pictures.

Self control has never been my strength.

I am definitely a fan of the quinoa muffin recipe 2.0. The texture is much more like a traditional muffin – light, airy, and slightly moist. The quinoa flavor isn’t as distinct, which I think would turn a lot of people off to this recipe. But it is still super healthy!

There is much less sugar in this recipe compared to my traditional muffin recipes. Also, the quinoa adds some extra protein, which makes it a great, well-rounded breakfast!

I would love to hear from anyone who made the original recipe and how you think this recipe compares! Let me know which one you like better! I certainly know which recipe I would vote for!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:125]

Quinoa and Brussels Sprout Stuffed Acorn Squash

October 3, 2016

Of all the squashes in the grocery store this time of year, acorn squash probably gets the least amount of love. Everyone is going straight for the butternut, pumpkin, or spaghetti squash leaving the acorn squash all by it’s lonesome.

Well, I would like to change that because acorn squash is delicious and very versatile. My favorite way to eat acorn squash is to stuff it. I stuff it with anything from ground turkey to lentils and vegetables. What ever you would stuff in a bell pepper or pile on top of a spaghetti squash, you can probably stuff in the acorn squash.

This time around I stuffed my acorn squash with a stuffing made up of chicken sausage, brussels sprouts, and quinoa. I was thinking of doing a classic Thanksgiving stuffing, but then I thought I would do something a bit healthier. I replaced the bread with quinoa and the pork sausage with chicken sausage.

I started by roasting the acorn squash in the oven, and at the same time preparing the stuffing. I first made the quinoa and sauteed the sprouts, onions, sausage, and spices. Once the quinoa was ready, I added it to the sprouts and mixed everything together. The timing worked out perfectly, so that the stuffing was ready once the squash was nice and tender. From there, I just packed the stuffing into the squash and baked it together for a just a few minutes.

I love meals like this – stuffed squash, stuffed peppers – because they are pretty easy to throw together, there are easily adaptable, and generally pretty healthy. So even though 1 serving (1/2 squash, stuffed) is pretty big, its pretty healthy. There is the healthy carbohydrates from quinoa, vitamins K and C from the brussels sprouts, protein from the sausage, and vitamin A and potassium from the squash. That’s a pretty well rounded meal!

PIN NOW, MAKE LATER

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:82]

Chicken and Quinoa Stuffed Avocados

April 13, 2016

If you live in Charlotte or happen to visit our fine city, one place you must stop in for a bite to eat is Viva Chicken. It’s a fast casual restaurant with some amazing Peruvian chicken dishes. One of their all time best sellers have to be their quinoa stuffed avocados: half an avocado stuffed with spiced red quinoa and topped with a chipotle mayo and balsamic sauce. Sounds so good, right?

Since I can’t eat at Viva Chicken every day (I wish I could), I decided to make my own version of their stuffed avocados at home. Except for my version I wanted to add some chicken and veggies so that I could feel less guilty about calling it ‘dinner’.

While I love avocados, this dish would be nothing without quinoa. Without it, it might as well be deconstructed guacamole. For those of you who have never made quinoa, don’t worry. It’s exactly like making rice! But a little more full-proof, in my opinion. The only difference is that I toast the quinoa before I add in the liquid to boil.

To start, I poured in the dry quinoa into a hot sauce pan and let the little grains toast, stirring every so often, for about 5 minutes. Then I added in chicken stock (water could be used, too) and let it come to a boil before turning the heat down and covering the the dish.

While the quinoa cooked, I sauteed up some bell peppers, onions, corn, garlic, and a chipotle pepper. Once the veggies were tender and the qunioa had absorbed all the liquid, I added the quinoa and some chicken (I used left over chicken breast. You can also use rotisserie chicken.), then mixed it all together. Now the only thing that was left to do was stuff the avocado!

This may be stating the obvious, but I waited until the very last minute to cut open my avocados. If you have ever worked with avocados before, you know how quickly they can brown. Once the filling was finished, I cut them down the middle, removed the seed, then piled on a generous amount of the quinoa and chicken mixture.

For avocado lovers out there, this is the stuff dreams are made of. Those of you on a low carb diet will absolutely love this recipe as a healthy lunch or part dinner. Hey, add an egg and call it breakfast for all I care! There tons of healthy fat, protein, and just the right amount of carbs. And if you are not an avocado lover, well, I am sorry. You are truly missing out.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:19]

Berry Quinoa and Kale Salad

March 23, 2016

Kale-SaladB-1

I have been posting so many cookie and cake recipes lately I thought I should break it up and post something a bit healthier. Even I am starting to get a stomach ache from reading all these sugar-filled posts (yet as I write this, I am eating left over birthday cake)! So what better recipe to lighten things up than a kale salad?

I know kale isn’t everyone’s favorite. I only tolerate it because it is so healthy and I know I am being good to my body by eating it. That is, until recently when I finally figured out how to prepare kale for salads that makes kale more than tolerable…it actually makes it taste pretty good!

Kale Salad-1

I learned this trick from a friend of mine who always makes the best salads. Her trick to making kale edible is to massage the kale with lemon juice and letting it sit for about 10 minutes before adding on the extra toppings. Pretty high maintenance, I know…but it really makes a difference! The lemon juice helps to break down and tenderize the kale, plus it adds some extra, much-needed flavor.

Now my trick to making kale tolerable is to pile on all my favorite salad toppings like avocado, strawberries, and goat cheese.

Kale Salad-3

The best part is that each of these toppings is delicious on their own but they all have their own super power making this salad extra healthy!

Kale is packed with lots of fiber and is incredibly nutrient rich. Avocado and walnuts are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Strawberries and blackberries are an excellent source of vitamin C. Chickpeas and quinoa are a great way to get some protein. And goat cheese adds some calcium to the party.

Kale Salad-5

Because there are so many flavors going on with the toppings, I didn’t want to over power the salad with a heavy dressing. I made a simple vinegrette with honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. It added the perfect amount of sweetness to cut through kale’s bitterness, and just a hint of acidity.

Kale Salad-6

This will surely be one of my go-to salads to make for lunch this Spring and Summer. It is light and refreshing, but is still hearty enough to make a complete meal. As different fruits and berries come into season, this salad is easily adaptable to other yummy ingredients.

What’s your favorite way to eat kale?

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:10]

Quinoa Pasta

April 2, 2014

I think it is fair to say that most women (or anyone watching their weight) have a love-hate relationship with pasta. It’s easy and comforting. But the carbs. Oh the carbs. I, personally, try to limit my pasta intake to once or twice a month. My husband, on the other hand, could eat it every. single. day. To compromise with him, I try different tricks to substitute or limit the pasta. My new favorite might just be this quinoa pasta I whipped up.

With the right tools, homemade pasta is actually really easy. Really, all pasta is is flour, eggs, and a little seasoning rolled thin and cut into strips (or some other fun shape). For this recipe, I replaced part of the flour with “quinoa flour”, which is dry quinoa processed into a fine “flour”.

The quinoa flour is much coarser than normal flour, so you may not be able to make fine angel hair pasta. But it works perfectly well with any pasta roller attachment for making fettuccine or pappardelle noodles.

Because of the graininess of the dough, I only rolled my noodles out to about a 3mm thickness on my pasta roller attachment for the KitchenAid. Then I cut them by hand with a pizza cutter to make thick papparadelle noddles.

I would love to give you a play-by-play of how to make pasta with a pasta roller, but the hard work has already been done by the fine folks at the Kitchn. And I probably couldn’t do it better myself.

Once you have the noodles, you cook them just as you would any other pasta noodle. But because they are fresh and not dried, they cook much faster. Almost too fast if you are not careful and take your eye off of the pot.

With my quinoa pasta, I just tossed the noddles with some store bought pasta sauce and some sauteed veggies for a quick and light meal. But I plan on making this recipe again and using the noddles for lasagna.

Protein Power Pancakes

November 19, 2013

Pancakes are one of my favorite things to make on the weekend. All week, I try to have a healthy breakfast – a protein smoothie with berries and spinach or Greek yogurt. On the weekends (especially now that the wedding is behind us) I like to do something slightly indulgent. Or at least pretend to be indulgent.

Truth be told, these pancakes are hardly indulgent (except for the chocolate chips I snuck in some of them). The secret, protein packed, ingredient is quinoa. But instead of whole, cooked, quinoa like I used in these muffins, I ground the dried quinoa into a flour. Genius, right? I can’t take credit. I got the idea off of Pinterest (of course).

And making quinoa into a flour couldn’t be easier as long as you have a blender or food processor. I used our Magic Bullet blender and it took only 15 seconds.

Once the quinoa is ground, it can be used in place of flour for almost anything. The very nutty and distinct quinoa flavor is still there, so if you are not a fan of the quinoa flavor, then I wouldn’t recommend these. However, if you like quinoa and are in the mood for a hearty and healthy pre-workout breakfast, these are for you!

Enjoy!

Quinoa Blueberry Muffins

April 22, 2013

THIS RECIPE HAS BEEN UPDATED!! Click here to see the updated version of the recipe.

…

I’ve been on this weird kick of trying to make different breakfast foods using quinoa. First pancakes, now muffins. I have to say, after making Gordon Ramsay’s uber healthy blueberry muffins, I think I kinda like these better. It could just be that I am not a huge fan of banana, which GR’s version has. But these muffins are light and fresh tasting, and frankly, don’t taste so…..healthy!

But these muffins are just as healthy, if not healthier. There is no butter or oil. Very little sugar. Quinoa is incredibly healthy and packed with protein. I have found that quinoa, after it’s cooked, can be used almost interchangeably with flour or oats. So don’t be surprised if you find me making more recipes with quinoa!

I hope you give these muffins a try!

[yumprint-recipe id=’84’]