You can eat to live, on the fly- choose quinoa, not fries.

Life is busy. Even a little chaotic at times. If you are anything like me, you take care of everyone else before you take care of yourself.  If I do not have something healthy prepared, sitting waiting for me on the shelf of my fridge- I will eat on the fly and it becomes even harder to make the choices I need to be making, when I am starving and running on fumes. It is hard to prepare healthy meals when you are on the go, so taking an hour or two one day a week, to prep- I have found, is key and such an important form of self care. After all, standing at the counter, eating whatever you made the kids for dinner, whether it fits into your nutrition plan or not, is not considered loving yourself.  

With 4 busy children and 2 autoimmune diseases, Quinoa is a life-saver. Quinoa is actually a seed that is classified as an ancient whole grain, loaded with 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per cooked cup. It is an excellent plant protein, because unlike some plant proteins, quinoa is a complete protein, since it has all 9 essential amnio acids, which our bodies cannot make on their own. 

It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and can be made in such a variety of ways, it’s hard to grow tired of it. It stays well, so you can make enough for a few days! This is the latest recipe that I threw together, so I would have something nutritious sitting in my fridge. I wanted to be sure I would have no excuses. That I would be supporting myself in my goal to eat to live (not live to eat)…to support my health and keep my autoimmune diseases in check. 

I hope you enjoy it!

If you have a favorite quinoa recipe, I would love for you to share it!

Quinoa Salad

What you will need:

2 cups Quinoa uncooked 

( I mixed yellow and red quinoa together and used a cup of each)

Handful- massaged Kale

Handful Spinach

2.5 oz Pine nuts, toasted

1 pint Grape tomatoes

1 large Cucumber (seeded and peeled)

6.7 oz jar Sun-dried tomatoes

4 oz Feta cheese

Dressing:

2-3 turns around the bowl of EVOO to coat, more to taste.

1 TBSP Dijon Mustard, add more if desired.

Lemon Juice of 3 whole lemons

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

1. Boil 4 cups of water. Once boiling, place the strained quinoa (2 cups) in boiling water. Cover. Reduce heat. Cook approximately 12 minutes. Let cool.

2. Toast pine nuts, until fragrant. Be careful, they burn the minute you take your eyes off of them.

3. While quinoa is cooking, chop the following into bite size pieces: red pepper, cucumber, sun-dried tomato. Cut grape tomatoes in half. Place in medium size bowl.

4. Massage kale and coarsely chop kale and spinach. Place in bowl with chopped veggies.

5. Crumble feta cheese into the bowl of chopped veggies, spinach and kale. Add toasted pine nuts.

6. Into the bowl, spoon in Dijon mustard. Squeeze the juice of 3 whole lemons and add EVOO. Mix with the veggies. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Once quinoa is cooled, add desired amount to the veggie mixture and stir.

8. Enjoy every bite and feel good about the meal you just made. It’s packed with protein and good nutrition to fuel your body!

TIPS: 

There is no way to mess this recipe up. Have fun experimenting with measurements until you find the perfect fit for your taste. Add more or less or omit or substitute any ingredient! I had both kale and spinach and wanted to use them both, but this would be equally good, with one or the other. Also, pine nuts can be expensive, especially when you burn them while toasting them, like I tend to do- so almond slices could also be a great substitute!

You may have left over quinoa. Use any left over quinoa in homemade soup, with nut milk, honey and fresh fruit or as a topping on salad.