Lately I’ve been feeling that the quinoa salad recipes I make for the family on a regular basis have gotten a little…redundant. Not that they aren’t super yummy, but when you eat quinoa as much as we do after a while it can get a little boring. So, I decided to liven things up a bit! This Thai Black Rice & Quinoa Salad is flavor packed and just what I was needing to mix things up. It had the hubby saying “This is really good” (as if he’s surprised…..hmmmphh–foot stomp!) multiple times every time I served it.

I really loved the way the herbs, mango and pepper played against each other to create a slightly hot sweet and spicy dish.  If you want to turn up the heat a bit, you could always drizzle it with more hot sauce.  (We found it perfect as written.)  On the other hand, if you shy away from heat you may want to use less hot sauce and omit the crushed red pepper.

Now be warned – this recipe makes a lot! It’s perfect for those of you who are looking to cook lunches ahead but if you are single and eat lunch out you may want to half the recipe…or else you could find yourself getting bored with it before you have eaten it all!

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Magazine.

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One of my goals for this year is to really master my eating. I think Gena over at Choosing Raw said it best when she talked about discovering our “eating identity”.  What I want to do is to figure out how I am happiest eating in a manner that has nothing to do with dieting and everything to do with eating in a sustainable and healthy way.

We all have things that we “can’t give up” as well as thing we can.  For me, I’ve already ditched soda, meat, milk, seafood, eggs, cheese, GMO foods and anything that has ingredients like cellulose or high fructose corn syrup.  I’m working on reducing oil in my diet, and not eating so many Gardein products in favor of “real” food.  I also have plans to eat gluten free for at least two weeks to discover if I can tell a difference in how it makes me feel.

So what are the things I feel like I just can’t give up? For me bread, pasta and wine are three things I just love. I’ve tried ditching them from my diet and what usually happens is that I do good for a week or two and then feel so deprive that I find myself eating large portions of pasta every night for a week.  With wine.  And bread.

So, rather than deprive myself, this year I’m going to be coming up with some healthy pasta and bread recipes that I can eat in proper proportions. By not depriving myself I’m hoping to avoid those periods where I completely fall off the healthy eating bandwagon for a week or more at a time.

Today’s recipe is a healthy pasta dish that can be made completely oil free if you desire.  One thing that you will want to keep in mind that to keep pasta oil free, it is best if you are planning on eating it right away as it can stick together if allowed to sit too long.  Still, even if you do choose to add oil to this dish it is still light and can easily be part of a healthy nutrition plan.

What about you?  Do you have a strategy to keep you on track all year?

Inspired by Vegan Yum Yum

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Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely love cookbooks. Few things are more enjoyable than curling up with a good cookbook  and a pad of sticky notes cut into little strips on a weekend afternoon.   I just love to go through and mark all the recipes that catch my eye, dreaming of one day making them all.

Recently, I had the chance to spend such an afternoon with Vegan Holiday Kitchen, and I’ll have to tell you, it was a very enjoyable time.

In addition to loving cookbooks, I love the holidays. A lot. I love any excuse to celebrate.

Case in point: We don’t have birthdays in our house, we have Birthday Seasons. (It is currently my soon to be 7 years olds birthday season and let me tell you…he is milking it. And I love every minute of it because he so reminds me of myself.  Well, except is isn’t constantly trying to talk people into foot rubs during his birthday season.  Yet.)

Anyhow, as if getting a new cookbook wasn’t enough, the fact that it was a holiday cookbook had me especially excited. I even made a special trip to the store to get sticky notes. A quick glance told me I was probably going to need to be prepared.  And I wasn’t disappointed!

Start to finish, Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas is simply amazing. The photography is stunning and the recipes will leave you drooling.

When I first heard the book was coming out, somehow I envisioned a book that only focued on the winter holidays.  Imagine my suprise and delight to find recipes for everything from summer entertaining, to Easter to brunches.  In fact, this pasta and quinoa salad recipe comes from the summer entertaining sections.  But don’t hold that against it.  I just had to try it be cause I LOVE new ideas in the kitchen, and frankly it had never occurred to me to combine pasta and quinoa. I’m actually kinda mad about that, but I liked it so much that chances are you will see this combination again. You’ve been warned.

I highly recommend this book!  It’s not the kind of book you use once and set aside, but one that you will refer to time and again.  Get your copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen now!

Recipe reprinted with permission from Vegan Holiday Kitchen.  A courtesy copy of Vegan Holiday Kitchen was provided by the publisher.  That doesn’t change the fact that this book rocks.

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Quinoa salad recipes are my go to meals when I’m short on time and trying to eat healthy. Often I will make a huge quinoa salad on Sunday afternoon, not for a meal that day but to have in the fridge during the week.  That way if I get busy I can grab a quick meal and still stay on track with eating healthy.

There is something that I find especially filling about quinoa salad with black beans, and since reading Eat to Live I have been making a big effort to get more legumes in my diet.  So I was really excited to see a Fiesta Quinoa Salad with black beans in my latest cookbook acquisition, Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet.

Of course, the combination of quinoa, black beans, pepper, tomatoes and cilantro is nothing new to any of us.  But the dressing on  this dish really stands out – I loved the tamari, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar combo.

If you are new to cooking quinoa and need help cooking it, you may want to check out this post on how to cook quinoa. To get the three cups of quinoa that this recipe calls for, you will need one cup of dried quinoa.

Recipe adapted from Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet (A super-amazing healthy Vegan cookbook that is also very beautiful.)

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If you have been around here long at all, you know that I really, really love garlic. I love it raw, roasted and lightly baked. In fact, there are very few dishes that I think wouldn’t benefit from the addition of a little garlic. (Ok, maybe not breakfast dishes unless you are like me and often eat salad for breakfast.)

So, as I was reading Thrive Foods (which is a must have cookbook and nutrition guide)  and saw a simple recipe for roasted garlic quinoa, I began to feel a little giddy inside.

I’ve roasted garlic to make with quinoa before, but never in a ultra healthy simple way that is just perfect for week night cooking.

Now don’t let the time it takes you to roast garlic throw you off. You’ve heard me say how I always cook quinoa, black beans and garbanzos in bulk once a week. Now I’m adding roasting garlic to my task list. It is a perfect addition to not only quinoa dishes, but its also great in home made salad dressings, in hummus, on pizzas…. I could go on and on.

And, one benefit of roasted garlic is that the taste mellows a bit and isn’t as prone to making you taste it for hours.

Now, this is a simple dish. Very simple in fact – especially for me. (Though I did add in a little onion and pepper from the original). So, if you are in the mood for something a bit more exciting, this is a great place to experiment. Add in some black beans, cilantro and avocado. Or, how about chick peas and a little curry powder. Have fun!

Adapted from Thrive Foods

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I can’t say what my favorite thing is about this Mexican Quinoa Salad was.  The taste was fabulous, but I really loved the texture too.  And, of course I love how colorful it is.  Colorful dishes make me smile because I know getting a pretty picture will be easy.

At the end of the day, this dish was a real winner at our house.

And yes, thank you for asking.  Those ARE homemade corn tortillas on top!

I was feeling adventurous a few weeks ago, so I decided to buy a Tortilla Press so that I could make my own tortillas and flat bread.  This was on the heels of reading an ingredient list on a package of wraps that included way too many things I didn’t want to be eating or feeding my family.So this week a few weeks had gone by and still no tortillas had been made.

I shifted the spot to where the tortilla press was stored to the back of the shelf where I keep plates and place mats that I used for photographs. (So that my husband wouldn’t be reminded of it and ask me where were the tortillas or Whoopee Pies I had planned on making.)

Strangely, that didn’t ease the guilt I was feeling about not actually using the tortilla press.

Finally, I stopped being lazy got adventurous and tried the darn thing out!  It was a little work at first but once I realized that I needed to use a plastic bag as a liner it went smooth as can be.  Best of all, I made these corn tortillas with just two ingredients!  I still need to practice some more before I’m ready to offer tips, but you’ll see these tortillas again because I also used them to make a really great tostada recipe I have coming soon.  (With a rocking cashew cream avocado sauce!)

If you are looking for a great quinoa salad that is pretty enough for company, I highly recommend this Mexican Quinoa Salad! And if you are interested in getting your own tortilla press, you can buy them at Amazon.com.

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My boys have been taught at home in one way or another since they were very little.  So, you would think that the start of the home schooling year wouldn’t be such a big deal for me.

But, the truth is that I don’t think that anything could have prepared me for what it is going to be like to “really” home school two children who are so close together but have very different learning styles.  It’s crazy, busy, exhausting….and FUN!

We’ve had a busy first week, and I’m not sure who has learned more – me or the boys.  The biggest shock, given how close my boys are, is that they do so much better when separated.  So, the back half of this week has consisted of me running from one end (the bedroom where my computer is) to the other (the kitchen table) end of our house.  It’s a work out. 

Anyways, what does all this have to do with cooking and quinoa?

Not much really, except that this is the first in a series of posts that I have planned that are either super easy, or easy to make ahead.
Now these quinoa stuffed potatoes do take a little time with baking the potato and all.  But, they score big points with me because they can be made ahead and even frozen.  I also like dishes that are super tasty for me, but easy to adjust to make kid-friendly.  In the case of my boys, I left the artichokes and capers out and topped them with cheddar cheese.

These stuffed quinoa potatoes were a big hit with kids and adults alike in my house!

Recipe Adapted from EatingWell

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Looking for an easy to make weeknight meal?  Try quinoa polenta!  Nope, I’m not talking about going out and buying Quinoa Polenta – although that is a great idea too – I’m talking about making your own.  It’s fast, inexpensive and delicious!

After trying Ancient Harvest Quinoa Polenta a while back, I’ve been meaning to try making quinoa polenta myself.  In fact, I’ve had a bag of organic polenta in my pantry for a while now.  Since I’m getting ready for a busy homeschooling week – and what I consider to be my first year of “real” school for the boys (Kindergarten and First Grade….where does the time go?) – I’ve been trying to keep my meals simple.   It was the perfect opportunity to finally make quinoa polenta, which is a great quinoa side dish, but for us it worked well as the main course.

I don’t know why given how many quinoa recipes I create and make on a regular basis, but I was actually really surprised at how well the quinoa worked with the polenta.  It was as if it disappeared and I was eating just polenta – with the added bonus of an extra boost of protein!

My husband enjoyed his with blue cheese crumbles on top, which he said made it out of this world.  I think goat cheese would be very nice as well.

If you don’t have saffron threads on hand, feel free to leave this out.  It added a nice flavoring, but many other spices (like tumeric) would work as well.

This time I just made a soft polenta to serve in a bowl, but next time I’m going to try making more of a log.  Quinoa Fries anyone?

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I’m pretty sure this summer is getting the best of me.  You might recall me saying that I took 10 days off at the beginning of this month.  During this time, I stayed away from the computer – and the kitchen – as much as possible.  That’s not to say that I didn’t cook.  I did, but I tried to keep the recipes low key. (Like this easy quinoa salad)

Or, if I was going to do something complex, I made sure it was fun!  (Like the amazing popped quinoa chocolate bars that I’m going to be adding to my quinoa cookbook! I’m pretty sure I could market those babies!)

Anyways, although the time away should have left me refreshed I must confess that I’m having a very difficult time getting back into the groove of things.  I certainly am not in need of a vacation from my vacation because during this time I did very little.  I think after years of not taking it easy (as in almost 7), perhaps I enjoyed my down time a bit too much.

Either way, I apologize if my posts have been a bit sporadic this month.

Today’s recipe is one of the easy quinoa recipes I made while I was taking it easy.  It is a great easy quinoa salad for lunch or dinner.   But being that I really don’t like traditional breakfast foods, personally, I really loved this for breakfast.

My family, on the other hand, found the image of me photographing food at 6 am very amusing.

Adapted from Fine Cooking

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A few weeks ago, I ran across a recipe for quinoa fritters that won an award on a cooking show.  Of course I had to try it, but first a serious make over was in order.  Although I’ll admit that I’ve been a bit indulgent with my food in July, the 3/4 cup of  oil that the original recipe called for was a bit much for me.  I mean, I’m from the South.  I know a fritter is supposed to be deep fried.  But I just had to try to make this recipe for quinoa fritters healthier – something I could enjoy on a regular basis.
I am happy to say it was a smashing success in our house! The first thing I did was add some vegetables to the mix!  I also switched out the white flour for whole wheat white, which has all of the nutritional benefits of whole wheat flour.  For the sauce, I used non Fat Greek yogurt is the base to cut down on fat (in place of mayonnaise), and I also added a healthy kick of garlic. Now, you’ll notice that my fritters aren’t much of a fritter shape at all.  The reason for this is that with the lower amount of oil I used I had to flatten them out a bit to make sure they would get brown and crispy.  No one seemed to care and even my 5 year old loved these.  Well…except the “green stuff” (spinach).  Next time I’ll chop the spinach very fine, but unless you have a little one whose going through a weird “I won’t eat anything green and you can’t make me because I’m willing to starve myself” phase, I wouldn’t worry with it.  As for the adults, it was just perfect!

Edit:  Thanks to Sharon for the tip to use Organic Coconut Oil as a healthier alternative to canola oil!

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