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.

Print This

You might also like...

It’s not often that I tell you that you really have to try a recipe…but you really have to try this one.   It reminds me a bit of something you would get at a restaurant and later find out that it has 800 calories and 30 grams of fat.  In fact, it was so yummy I actually got nervous when calculating the nutritional information.  (Whew, thank goodness it only has 341 calories – 381 if you cook in oil.) It was such a hit at our house that I’ve already got it on next weeks menu.

The inspiration for this recipe came from this recipe which I found on Pinterest.  (Who else is completely obsessed with Pinterest?)

I had originally planned on just making a version of the original with quinoa, but once I got in the kitchen I got creative and changed up the spices quite a bit. I also added corn, which I thought was a great addition. Next time I think I’ll add in a little diced avocado!

This is a fun recipe that you can adjust to your own tastes. Roasted red peppers would be nice in place of the bell pepper. You can use more or less cheese.  For those who don’t want to use sour cream, this would still be delicious without it.  If you don’t have nutritional yeast, you can easily leave it off but I do like the cheesy flavor it gives.

Print This

You might also like...

I have a confession. I haven’t been doing very well in the first month of the year with my plans to get fit and really work the kinks out of my diet.  You’d think running a website like this would keep me on track at all times, wouldn’t you?

Not so much.

So forgive me if I’m feeling a bit virtuous with these super clean quinoa patties!  Not only are they gluten free but they are also suitable for those following eating plans like Eat to Live.  I was able to cook them with almost no oil thanks to my Griddler.  (I actually could have probably skipped the spray but I was worried they would stick and I wouldn’t get a picture.)

Now a lot of times when I’ve tried to do uber-healthy quinoa patties and burgers, I’ve felt like the recipes were a bit of a sacrifice.  That isn’t the case here.  Now I’m not saying these are up to the standard of these egg filled, cheese filled quinoa patties, but I will have to say that they were delicious.

I really didn’t realize how healthy they were until I did the nutritional analysis, which pointed out these good points:

Low in saturated fat
Very low in cholesterol
High in dietary fiber
High in manganese
High in magnesium
High in phosphorus
Very high in vitamin A
High in vitamin C

Since I know I will get emails about this if I don’t put it out there, the sauce on the side is a mixture of an organic tofu mayo (low oil), ketchup and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.  You could easily use plain yogurt (Greek or vegan Greek-style would be best) or Mayo in place of the tofu mayo.

Recipe inspired by Clean Eating Magazine

Print This

You might also like...

I don’t know about you but when I’m feeling like there is more to do in a given day than I can possibly get done, I find myself reaching for foods that are….less than ideal.   I could blame the fact that my boys had a fleeing infatuation with bagel chips (and the hubby bought them four bags) and I haven’t been able to find kale at the grocery store to make my beloved kale chips.   But really this is a recurring theme with me.  When things are calm my diet is pretty darn good.  But when things get crazy, I find myself snacking and relying on convenience foods.   This has been going on off an on since the holidays, but I put a stop to it this week.  One thing I know about myself is that if I plan ahead, I always do better.  This quinoa edamame salad is the perfect solution for me.

I fell in love with the mixture of quinoa and edamame with this vegan quinoa salad. The combo is perfect for me right now, because it keeps me full which helps prevent mindless snacking. And, if I do get hungry having quinoa salad in the fridge goes a long way towards keeping the boys bagel chips safe.

Print This

You might also like...

Today’s Quinoa Burger is a protein packed meal that will please herbivores and carnivores alike.  It happens to be my husbands new favorite veggie burger recipe, and I often make a double batch just for him.  With over 30 grams of protein per serving, its an ideal hungry man’s dinner, veggie style!

Now, my apologies to those of you who are gluten free.  This recipe does have vital wheat gluten which gives it a texture that is amazing!  Stick with me because I have a new gluten free quinoa buger/quinoa patty coming up in a few days which I actually like better than this one.  (Hubby would disagree, though he liked the quinoa patties too!)

An interesting note about this recipe is that it is very versatile. I made it a few weeks ago with leftovers from this recipe (I cut the sausage up fine) and it was out of this world! Here I’ve used plain cooked quinoa and it was still fantastic.  We love the flavor from the liquid smoke, but if it’s something you’d rather not use you can leave it of or substitute Worcestershire Sauce sauce in its place.

This recipe was modified from Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites.  I love the book but my one complaint is that it uses things like TVP.  You can read more here about why TVP may not be something you want to eat on a regular basis.  We tried it prior to knowing that it wasn’t so good for you and both of us didn’t like how we felt afterwards.  Luckily, quinoa works just as well in many cases, this recipe being a case in point.

I’ve used my new, amazing, wonderful Griddler (the one that was on my Christmas list ) here, which allows me to cook without oil.  I’ve listed other options below.

Print This

You might also like...

Anyone who knows me knows that I crave creamy comfort food. In fact, there was a point in my life that if you had asked me my favorite food it would have been a toss up between macaroni and cheese and sour cream. (And the sour cream part would have been only half joking.) I used to put it on everything, to the point that those close to me teased me about it.

For this reason (and my extreme love of cheese), those very same people are in complete shock that I not only attempted going vegan but that I’ve stuck with it.

Strangely, I don’t miss cheese or sour cream a bit, and its recipes like this that are the reason.  Vegan or not, this is a great and healthy quinoa recipe that really fills my need for comfort food.  And even with the cheese and sour cream, Calorie Count still gives the recipe a nutritional grade “A”!  (That actually kind of suprised me!)

One thing I like about this recipe is that you can make the quinoa mixture ahead of time and then it is quick to pull together for lunch or dinner in just a few minutes. You can also bake the tortillas and keep them in a sealed container until you are ready to use them. I really like the tortillas crunched up small (not how they are pictured) – it kind of reminds me of the taco salads my mom used to make with Doritos when I was a kid!

Recipe Inspired by Clean Eating

Print This

You might also like...

January is always a busy time around here and I can’t help but get a little excited by all the activity. Traffic spikes pretty dramatically thanks to everyone trying to start the New Year off with healthy eating. If you are new around here, I’d like to give you a heartfelt welcome. Please take the time to join in the conversation on Facebook as well as to follow me on Twitter. And, if you’ve been around a while I would like to thank you for your continued support.

We’ve made some changes – including rebuilding the website from scratch – over the last few weeks. The result is a faster website, but a few people have been reporting errors in viewing the website such as ads covering content (which means you are viewing a cached version of the site from when we were in the rebuild process) or getting the pop up when they are already on the mailing list or have already clicked the “no thanks” button in the ad. If you are having issues viewing the site, please do report them to me as we are working to correct everything but it can be challenging when we don’t know what is going on. (But be nice – my tolerance for mean people is very low.)

Regarding the pop up, you can go to this page to stop it. You will need to do this for each device that you view the site on. (i.e. your computer, iPad, iPhone…) Depending on your settings, you may need to hit Control – R to refresh your browser. Again, let us know if you are having any issues!

Now, on to today’s recipe! This is an easy to make and very versatile. I actually used the leftovers from this, chopped the turkey up smaller and made without a doubt the best veggie burger I’ve ever put in my mouth. Of course, I was just playing and didn’t write a thing down. SIGH..

Print This

You might also like...

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

Print This

You might also like...

Given the fact that it is the first of the year, I’m guessing that I’m not the only one who is placing an increased focus on health, nutrition and exercise. Although I always say that “this is the year” that I’m finally going to regain my pre-baby body, I really DO believe that this is the year. Why? For starters, I’m not going at it will an all or nothing attitude. I really think with weight loss it is very important to understand your personality. Some people (like my mom) need structure. They thrive on being told exactly what they should be eating and as long as they know what to do can follow a plan without exception. This doesn’t work for me. I need the freedom to be creative in the kitchen and I absolutely MUST have some indulgences in my diet. Even if it means I have to work out a little harder to get the results I’m looking for.

Another thing I’ve learned is that my biggest slip up in not having healthy snacks on hand. I like salad for breakfast (no judging – but I know I’m weird) and lunch is usually a wrap or some sort of quinoa salad. But given that I get up most days around 5 am and don’t eat dinner until around 7, this means that invariably I get hungry in the afternoon. Unfortunately until now this has most often meant sneaking into the boys crackers (and not stopping at just a couple) or some other mindless snack that I don’t really enjoy but always eat too much of.

Enter these quinoa protein bars. These are perfect for me because they are not too sweet, but are sweet enough to feel quite indulgent. And surprisingly, they are very filling! If you don’t have almond butter, seasame butter or peanut butter will also work well. And, for those who can’t find quinoa flakes oatmeal works too! (Although then they really aren’t quinoa protein bars )

This is the perfect quinoa recipe to whip up on the weekend and have ready to go in your refrigerator to take along to work for an afternoon or morning snack. My mom (who tolerates sweets better than I do) also likes them for breakfast!

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Print This

You might also like...

Today I’ve got an easy to make and super healthy recipe for you that is perfect for your New Years resolution. The recipe began with a reader asking me if it was possible to convert it to a gluten free recipe, which I was happy to do.

Unfortunately, this request came several weeks ago and the last few weeks have been filled with challenges for me. First there was my son’s 7th birthday – which rocked. And then I got sick. And then Christmas and New Years, both of which I was still sick for. Although I’ll admit that sitting on the couch watching Chopped all day has been a nice break, I’m a bit frustrated because I had so many plans for the New Year – both personal and professional- and I’m feeling a bit behind.
For starters, I’d planned to do a post on my goals for the year, as a way to make them public and hold myself accountable. Unfortunately, I’m still ironing out exactly what it is that I want to accomplish this year. I’d also planned to restart P90x, but I think its best to wait until I can actually go an hour without a massive coughing attack to do so.

Although I hate feeling “behind”, I think there is an important lesson it in, so I’m trying to appreciate that. This time of year, we all have great intentions on how this year is going to be “the year”. Then, at the first time that something goes wrong we give up and go back to our old habits and give it all up.  I don’t know about you but I’m tired of beating myself up for not being perfect or for not being able to accomplish something in the exact time frame I had in mind.

So, I’d like to encourage you to step back and realize that change can take time and that you are much better off accomplishing your goals in a slow but steady process rather than killing yourself and burning out in the first two weeks of the year. I don’t mean not to give it your all, but rather to realize that whether you start working on something on the 1st or 15th isn’t really going to matter in the long run. It’s that you DO start and more importantly that you finish strong.  And know that life will get in the way, because without a doubt it will!  What leads to success is taking a brief pause to reflect on what isn’t working, STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP, and then to get back to the task at hand.  Ok, enough of my daily soap box.

On to the Sweet Potato Quinoa Falafel!

Print This

You might also like...