Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Kalamata Olives

Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Kalamata Olives

 

This recipe comes from the New York Times online.

I thought it sounded like a good way to eat quinoa (keen-wah), which is high in protein and a nice alternative to rice.

 

Before you cook quinoa, you need to rinse and drain it a few times to get the soapy residue off.  It cooks quickly.

When the little white string in the seed is present, you know it's done.  It's as easy as making rice according to the packaged directions.

After making the quinoa you toss it in a bowl with a seeded & diced cucumber, Kalamata olives (I halved mine), and chopped fresh mint and parsley.  I seasoned it with sea salt and black pepper.

 

Then I whisked the dressing ingredients together - lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil, and either buttermilk or plain yogurt.  I used plain Greek yogurt with a Tbsp of water to give it a dressing consistency.

 

 

You toss half of the dressing with salad greens of your choice (I used romaine), and the other half of the dressing with the quinoa salad.  I served the greens and quinoa separately, but you could combine them.

Top with diced avocado and Feta crumbles (optional).

 

I really loved this salad - I would do it again even without the dressing.  The boys were neutral, but David liked it too.  The quinoa salad portion was great the next day with new greens.

 

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Enjoy!

Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts

Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts

This recipe comes from The Kind Diet.  It sounded like a great, simple side dish to experiment with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA).  The title calls for pine nuts, but as you'll see in the first photo, I used raw cashews that I already had, as she recommends in the book.

I started by placing my nuts in a small dry saucepan and roasting them on medium for 7 minutes or so.

To cook the quinoa, you start by rinsing it really well.  My men weren't big quinoa fans when I first started cooking with it.  It turns out, it's because I wasn't rinsing it - which is necessary with quinoa.  Even if the package says "pre-rinsed", do yourself a favor and rinse it a couple of times in a fine mesh strainer again.

You cook the quinoa with water and a little sea salt until it's boiling. 

Then you simmer it, covered, for 20 minutes.

Toss the quinoa, nuts, and some basil together with a little olive oil.

I chopped and mixed in half my basil, then topped the rest with fresh basil at the end.

The quinoa is nutty so goes great with the nuts.

David would recommend doubling up on the nuts, but the recipe below is the original.

Go wild making your own version!

 

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Enjoy!

Quinoa & Vermicelli

Quinoa & Vermicelli

I really like this simple dish.  The first time I had quinoa in a restaurant, it was in this side dish.

I had it when Sandy offered her healthy cooking classes, and I have seen the same recipe in several vegetarian, whole-grain cookbooks.

I modified the 5 versions I had to create this one that I really liked.

The boys did too.

David is not a huge fan of quinoa, but he liked this dish "all right".

I think it would be great with sauteed vegetables cooked with it.

I used Mexican fideo pasta - their version of vermicelli.  I like it because it's cut short, like I've usually seen the pasta in this dish.

You start by cooking the vermicelli noddles with butter in a large saucepan until the noodles brown.

Then you add the vegetable broth, minced garlic, Kosher salt, and quinoa that has been rinsed and drained a number of times.

Bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer it until the quinoa has soaked up all the broth - about 15 minutes.

Serve while still warm.

It's really good warmed up the next day as well!

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Buen Provecho!

Red Quinoa and Edadame Salad

Reluctant Entertainer's

Red Quinoa and Edamame Salad

I saw this recipe on Sandy's blog and realized I had most of the ingredients on hand.

I modified Sandy's recipe slightly.

We ate a little bit of the salad, but I'm taking the majority of it to a get together tomorrow night.

David's not a huge quinoa fan, but we all really like edamame.

Surprisingly, the boys really liked this salad.

I did too!

This salad is chock full of protein, fiber, and nutrients.

It's very simple to assemble.

Start by cooking 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups boiling water as you would rice.

Then toss together with thawed edamame.

Season with an oil dressing and serve at room temperature.



I really like how different it is.

Really, really good!

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Bon Appetit!

Quinoa with Blueberries

Biggest Loser

Quinoa with Blueberries

Another Biggest Loser cookbook recipe. 

I like trying out new healthy recipes for the family, but this one I made just for myself because I didn't think they would want this for breakfast. 

I was right.

I liked the idea of trying out quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") for breakfast. 

It's usually served as a side dish grain, but thought it sounded like it might work for breakfast as an alternative to oatmeal.

I cooked the quinoa the night before and just heated a portion in the microwave for breakfast.

Start by thawing (if necessary) a cup of blueberries and smashing them up a little to release the juices.

Then adding them to the quinoa with a little honey and walnuts (the cookbook recommends almonds but I chose walnuts this time).

Then stir together and enjoy.

I wasn't a fan at first, but then I heated it up again in the microwave and it was good. 

It'll be a nice protein-rich change of pace from oatmeal some mornings!

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Enjoy!