This week I tried quinoa for the first time. It’s fine if you want to excommunicate me from the healthy blogging community. I would understand. I won’t even try to explain, except to say that it always seemed a little calorie-heavy for my liking. Plus, I would have had to put effort into trying new recipes (which is enough to put the kibosh on many new foods during the school year). But, with our new focus on eating whole, natural, unprocessed, nutritious foods as much as possible, I decided it was finally time to give quinoa a try.
And oh. my. goodness. How did I go so long before experiencing this grainy goodness?
The recipe I chose: Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner (BLD) Quinoa from Fit Foodie Finds (aptly named for its versatility to be eaten at any meal), though I modified the recipe just slightly to make it a little lower in calories.
Every day for lunch last week, I ate this Quinoa Goodness on a bed of spinach, mushrooms, cucumber, and cottage cheese.
All of my ingredients came from TJ’s and were raw and organic. I love how the salad is sweet, but naturally sweet.
Quinoa Goodness
Quinoa Goodness
(based off of this recipe from Fit Foodie Finds)
1 C quinoa
1/3 C dried cranberries
1/4 C sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
Bring two cups of water and one cup of quinoa to a rolling boil. Cover, and let simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Put in the fridge for at least two hours. Mix remaining ingredients into quinoa.
Nutrition Information (for 1/8th recipe): 191 calories, 33g carbs, 5g fat, 5g protein, 3g fiber
*Note: Increase the protein of this meal by using it atop fat-free Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Yum!
Wow! That does sound good! I need to try that!
Is quinoa itself high in calories? I was told quinoa isn’t actually a grain and so I just looked it up and what do you know quinoa is “a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.” Your recipe looks tasty, especially with the added cheese
Not as high as I thought, Alex. I was looking at the package and saw that 1/4 C is 200 calories. But that’s uncooked–just like rice, it expands a lot when it cooks. And 1/2 C of quinoa would be very filling! So my fears were qualmed
I just had quinoa this year for the first time and loved it!!
I tried to make quinoa before and absolutely couldn’t stand it. Like couldn’t take more than 3 bites. So, I’m thinking the recipe I made was bad (or, it could be the chef herself.). I’d like to give it another try because I’m always looking for something other than rice or bread. Hmmm …
Since this was my first time having quinoa, I wanted something to mask the taste, too. I think the balsamic vinegar and honey made a nice little marinade that did just that!
I loooove quinoa! I made it for my family and they were less enthusiastic haha but I still like it! I even made a quinoa flour pizza crust this week!
Mmm, I may have to try that! I’ve had a cauliflower pizza crust on the brain to try sometime soon, too.
I love Quinoa. It’s a good substitute to regular rice. It’s very rich in proteins and high in fiber! I need to look up for more recipes though. Thanks for this.