Quick Quinoa Tacos!

First, what is Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) and why should you eat it?

Contrary to popular belief-you can get all your protein from plant sources, including this complete source, found in the grain family, although it is a seed. A complete protein means the food contains the 9 essential amino acids we can't make in our bodies, in proper proportion for easy absorption. Most people think you need to get all your amino acids from one source and that that source should be meat. However, quinoa has a similar amino acid profile-meaning it is a complete protein packed with what you need to build muscle, etc. Also, on a side note, you don't need to get all your amino acids (the building blocks of protein) from one source. Our body is built to put varying aminos together to build things-so diversifying the sources in your diet is no less nutritious than getting them all from one food.

Quinoa was eaten by the Incans back in the day before battle. Yes, men, warriors ate it. So you can feel manly without the meat. This food will give you long-lasting energy throughout the day, stable blood sugar and protein to build muscle without saturated fat, casein (a known cancer-causing animal protein), excess sodium or sugar. It is also GLUTEN-FREE!!

And guess what-it's cheap, easy and yummy!! It only took me 1 hour to prep, cook, eat and cleanup after this meal. Doesn't get any easier.

Here's how I prepared it:

Quick Quinoa Tacos

Ingredients Serves 2 to 4

1/2 cup red quinoa (uncooked)

1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

pinch of cayenne

pinch of cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

your favorite guacamole (or make your own by just smashing up some avocados)

your favorite salsa

1 can low-sodium black beans

1 lime

1 package whole wheat flour tortillas

Method

Saute the onion, pepper, garlic and spices in a sauce pan until translucent and cooked. About 3 to 5 minutes on medium high heat. Add the 1/2 cup of quinoa and toast, while stirring constantly for about a minute. Then add the broth, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes stirring occassionally.

While the quinoa is cooking, open the black beans, drain and rinse. Heat if you prefer. Chop tomatoes and heat your tortillas if you want as well. I also used this time to steam some broccoli for the side to this dish. (To do that just buy some broccoli, break off the little stems into a colander, put the colander in a sauce pan that you can fill with about an inch of water without having it touch, cover and steam for about 12 minutes).

Then, once the quinoa mixture is done, build your tacos! Put the quinoa, beans, guacamole, salsa, lime and tomatoes on your tortilla and enjoy!

Random Recipe to Love!

I thought you might need another vegan, gluten-free soup to try this week so I wanted to share this one from the Vegetarian Times. It's super easy to make, cheap and only gets better overnight. It also is PACKED with protein, calcium, beta carotene and so many other yummy vitamins and minerals. Let me know what you think or if you added any of your own twists!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil (or if you are eliminating oil from your diet, just use water)

1 white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

3 cups kale, chopped (I used a whole head of lacinato or dino kale)

1 yam, diced (I left the skin on for added nutrients)

1 tablespoon smoked paprika (or just use regular if that's what you have)

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 bay leaf

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 15.5oz cans of no-salt-added Northern or Navy Beans

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Method

First, heat the oil or water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook on medium high heat for 8 minutes, or until lightly caramelized, stirring often.

Then add the kale and cook for about 4 minutes or until it's wilted. Stir in yam, paprika, curry powder and bay leaf, cooking for 1 minute more.

Add broth, and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes or until kale and yam are tender. Puree 1 cup of the beans with 3/4 cup of beans in a blender or food processor. Add puree and the rest of the beans to the soup and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the vinegar and serve!

Yum! This soup has:

165 calories, 9g protein, 2.5g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 300mg sodium (it says more on the veggie times website bkz they use regular beans!), 10g fiber

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday-What's for Dinner?

Meatless Monday is a great tradition to adopt if you are looking to improve your family's health. It is potentially the one-and-only day all week where you don't eat meat. The goal on this day is to pack your body with nutrient-rich foods such as vegetables, beans, whole grains and fruit, while leaving out the artery-clogging cholesterol, high-blood-pressure-making sodium, and obesity-causing saturated fats that are in meats, cheeses and processed foods. Don't get me wrong though, only one day of eating vegetables a week is not nearly enough to see the cholesterol-lowering, pound-shedding effects this eating style can provide you BUT, it is a great start and is worth every mouth-watering moment!

The key here is to make good choices for dinner on this night. Choosing fake meats or processed foods as an alternative to meat is not beneficial because they still have the fat, sodium and then sugar that you should avoid. Instead, try easy recipes using real ingredients to wow your tastebuds and fill you up. Try this recipe below-it's one of my favorites because it's quick, tasty and stays in the fridge for a few days for lunches! It's also inexpensive and you can totally multitask while it's cooking! Enjoy!

Veggie Paella

Ingredients (Vegan, Serves 6)

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 cups quinoa (uncooked, use red quinoa for a nuttier, more savory flavor)

1/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed (this is what makes any paella great!)

2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

dash cayenne

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes (no-salt added, very important)

1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 14oz can of red kidney beans (no-salt added), rinsed and drained

2 3/4 to 3 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 cup frozen peas

1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and cut into quarters

Method

Put the quinoa into a large bowl and cover with water, stirring well to wash the grain. Pour off the water (through a seive) and repeat. Leave the drained quinoa to the side for a second.

Saute the onion and garlic in a deep non-stick pan with a little water (in lieu of olive oil) until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the quinoa and saffron, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, peppers, beans and 2 3/4 cups of vegetable broth to the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook covered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check to see if more broth is needed. You'll know because the mixture will look dry instead of vibrant and moist. If dry add 1/4 cup broth. Now place the zucchini on top of the quinoa and re-cover. Cook for about 5 minutes more until the quinoa is done. You'll know because it will turn translucent-ish and will have little spiral-like tails coming from each seed. When done, remove the cover, stir in the peas and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. Arrange the artichoke hearts on the top and serve!

Nutrition Facts PER SERVING: 288 calories, 3g total fat, 13g protein, 0mg cholesterol, 150mg sodium, 10g fiber