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Quinoa Grain Salad with Fresh Dill & Goat Cheese
One thing that makes me feel totally on top of life is having a grain-based salad in the fridge for convenient and healthful eating. Unlike lettuce based salads, grain salads get better with time, so they’re perfect as make-ahead meals or for leftover lunches.
The ingredients in this particular quinoa salad are simple but come together perfectly to create a symphony of flavor and texture. Roasted tomatoes, bell pepper and asparagus give this salad richness and depth of flavor. And all three pair perfectly with one of my all time favorite ingredients – creamy, tangy goat cheese. Finally, white onion, chopped dill and lemon juice add freshness and zip. The ingredient list is short but thoughtful, making this salad quick, simple, nourishing and absolutely delicious.
This is a great side dish for simply prepared proteins like chicken, steak or fish. As a vegetarian, I would pair it with roasted cauliflower “steaks” or organic pan-fried tofu. But I usually eat salads like this as the main dish paired with all-natural toasted bread (rubbed with olive oil and maybe some garlic) plus something saucy like hummus or tzatziki. In the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?
Quinoa Grain Salad with Fresh Dill & Goat Cheese
Serves: 2-3 as a main dish, 4-5 as a side dish Start to Finish: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, each stem cut into thirds
1 pint cherry tomatoes, any color
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, fine grain
1 cup dry quinoa
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill (approx. 4-5 sprigs)
1/2 cup minced white onion
3 ounces goat cheese
To Make
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep vegetables.
Toss red bell pepper strips, asparagus and tomatoes with 3/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet for 20 minutes, tossing once half way through. I use a rimmed baking sheet to conserve the tomato juices.
While veggies roast, cook quinoa according to package instructions. My standard method…combine 1 cup dry quinoa with 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt in a small sauce pan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 13 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for at least 5-10 minutes.
Toss cooked quinoa and roasted vegetables (including any juices) with lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dill, onion and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Allow to cool to room temperature. Crumble cold goat cheese into quinoa mixture and toss to evenly distribute. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.
*make it a meal – round out this yummy quinoa salad with some tzatziki sauce (either store-bought or homemade) and some all-natural toasted bread drizzled with olive oil
Heirloom Tomato & Peach Sandwiches with Creamy Goat Cheese
Vegan Burrito Nourish Bowls with Roasted Peppers & Tomatillo Sauce
As I was saying in my last post, my focus these days is making healthy and clean eating easy for everyone. Whether trying to lose weight or just wanting to take advantage of the amazing health benefits that come with clean eating, the transition simply won’t happen unless it’s both convenient and delicious. This is where meal prep comes in. Having prepped ingredients in your fridge/pantry and knowing what to do with them will make your new clean eating lifestyle effortless.
Last week I used my Cauliflower Satay Nourish Bowl as the perfect example of this concept. Cooked quinoa, roasted cauliflower, simple pickled red onions, avocado and peanut sauce come together to make a plant-based, satisfying and tasty meal. It’s packable for lunch on-the-go. Or easy to throw together for a quick dinner, as long as the components were easy-to-prep or pre-prepped. As promised, I’m sharing another recipe that uses a few of the same ingredients. This is meant to show you how versatile these basic components are to transform into completely new meals, keeping things fresh and interesting.
For this super yummy (and vegan) burrito bowl, I’m using quinoa, pickled onions and avocado, just like in the Satay Nourish Bowl. But this time, I’m using roasted peppers instead of cauliflower, some canned black beans and my easy roasted tomatillo sauce to make a totally new and super delish meal. The key to plant-based, dairy-free and meat-free cooking is including multiple flavors and textures. Creamy avocado, refreshing tomatillo sauce, acidic pickled red onions, flavorful peppers and hearty black beans keep your tastebuds satisfied while providing your body with protein, fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Now, for today’s health and nutrition lesson focusing on a toxic compound known as BPA and how to avoid it…
Black Beans are a great source of meat-free protein, fiber, copper, folate, manganese and phosphorus. I love beans because they make reaching protein intake goals easy, even when not consuming animal products. Plus, adding the starchy texture of black beans makes meals texturally satisfying. When using beans from a can, which I do almost exclusively, I recommend choosing an organic variety. Additionally, when choosing any canned products, be sure the lining is made without BPA (Bisphenol A). Why? Because BPA is a synthetic compound that has been shown to disrupt the human endocrine system (aka the system of ALL human glands and the hormones these glands produce). Sadly, BPA is everywhere these days (even in cash register receipts). It’s virtually impossible to avoid completely, but because BPA builds up in your system and can last for generations, it’s important to avoid it as much as possible. Intake of BPA through eating and drinking is likely the biggest culprit, and cooking for yourself using BPA-free products is a great way to reduce your risk of side effects. Yet another reason why cooking for yourself is so beneficial.
Burrito Nourish Bowl with Roasted Peppers & Tomatillo Sauce
Serves: 4 Start to Finish: 50 minutes
Ingredients
1 small-medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3+ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup dry quinoa
3-4 peppers, I like 4 poblano for spice or 3 red bell peppers for sweet or mixed
sea salt, fine grain
olive oil
1 lb tomatillos
1 large clove garlic, peeled
2 packed tablespoons cilantro leaves (plus more for garnish, optional)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (organic preferred)
1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 avocados, diced or sliced
To Make
**If you don’t have the time or the desire to make your own tomatillo sauce, no problem! Use a store bought Salsa Verde. Check the ingredient list to make sure all ingredients sound whole and appetizing. Even better? Go for organic.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make pickled red onion (get the full recipe here). In a small bowl, combine 1 thinly sliced red onion, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup water and 3/4 teaspoons sea salt. Mix until salt is dissolved. Add 1 thinly sliced red onion. Toss to coat. Add additional vinegar and water, in equal amounts, to cover onions (you shouldn’t need much). Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes. Or make ahead…I always have pickled red onion ready to go in the fridge. The longer they sit, the better they get.
Roast peppers. Remove stem and seeds from peppers and cut into strips. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, tossing once. You could also roast whole peppers over an open flame, steam in sealed paper bag for 10 minutes. Remove charred skin, seeds and stem, and then cut into strips.
Also roast whole tomatillos at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, toss, roast for another 15-20.
Blend with 3/4 teaspoons salt, 1 clove garlic and 2 packed tablespoons of cilantro (2 handfuls). Add additional salt to taste.
Meanwhile, cook quinoa. Add 1 cup dry quinoa, 2 cups water and 3/4 teaspoons salt to a medium sauce pan. Bring to boil, uncovered. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover with lid. Simmer for 14-15 minutes, until excess water is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit, still covered, for 10-15 minutes.
Combine black beans with 3/4 teaspoon salt and hot sauce to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons for 2 cans). Heat on stove top or in microwave I f desired.
To make each bowl, layer 1/4 of cooked quinoa (about 2/3 cup), 2/3 to 1 cup of black beans, 1/4 of the roasted peppers, 3-4 tablespoons pickled red onions (plus pickling liquid to taste), 1/2 of a sliced/diced avocado and 3 tablespoons tomatillo sauce.
Quick & Easy: Roasted Asparagus & Hummus Gyros
More and more these days, Matt and I find ourselves playing the fridge-clean-out-game when deciding what to do for dinner. We do about one main grocery shop per week at which point we buy tons of produce, a little bit of meat or poultry for matt and restock our grains, beans and dairy arsenal. I may plan for a couple specific meals, but other than that, dinners are improvisational. The benefits? Playing the clean-out-game a few nights a week minimizes waste, saves money, avoids getting takeout, and it’s actually a pretty fun game. The hard part? Knowing what to have on hand to be able to successfully improv a delicious, balanced and satisfying meal. There’s no exact formula for this, and it really depends on your diet and food preferences. In any case, I’ve come up with a vegetarian-friendly list of staple categories to stock up on, and a few of my fave examples of each…
lettuce/dark leafy greens – hearts of romaine, lacinato kale, arugala
citrus – lemons, limes, blood oranges
flavor boosters – garlic, red onions, yellow onions, jalapenos, avocados
other produce – broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, red bell peppers, eggplant, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, grapes etc.
whole grains (uncooked) – short grain brown rice, quinoa, lentils
breads/pasta – whole wheat penne pasta, whole wheat pita/flatbread
dairy – cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, grass-fed plain yogurt, whole milk
canned foods (organic only) – black beans, chickpeas, lentils, diced tomatoes, coconut milk
oils – olive, organic canola, virgin coconut, toasted sesame
vinegars – red wine, champagne, apple cider
pantry/fridge staples – sea salt, hot sauce, tamari, tahini, dijon mustard, yellow miso, ketchup, raw cashews, maple syrup, agave, all purpose flour, corn meal, yeast
herbs/spices (dried) – black pepper, oregano, dill, parsley, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, coriander, cardamon, cinnamon
So now let’s put this list to work. A perfect example of an amazing fridge-clean-out meal using my handy-dandy staples list? You got it – these healthy and delicious Asparagus & Hummus Gyros. I threw these wraps together without much effort, and, you guessed it, each item I used is on my staples list. I made hummus from canned chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. I did a simple roast of the asparagus spears, which I had purchased without a purpose. To make it a balanced and substantial meal, I added shredded romaine, leftover minced red onion and a stupid-easy dill-yogurt sauce that utilized the last 1/3 cup of yogurt left from my family-size tub. Then I wrapped it all up in basic pita flatbreads. So yummy and so easy. This dinner ended up taking less than 30 minutes to prepare, and Matt and I were both blown away by how tasty it was. Balance it out with some crispy red grapes or apple slices and you’ve got yourself a full meal.
Anyway, I’d love to know your go-to tips and tricks for stocking the pantry and playing the kitchen improv game. Or, even better, any successful improvs you’d like to share. Let’s hear it!
Roasted Asparagus & Hummus Gyros with Dill-Yogurt Sauce
Servings: 4 Start to Finish: 30 minutes
Ingredients
for roasted asparagus
16 asparagus spears, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
for hummus (you could also use 1 cup store-bought hummus)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup water (+ more for texture)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
hot sauce, to taste (optional)
for dill-yogurt sauce
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
for assembly
1 romaine heart, shredded and washed
1/2 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 flatbreads or pitas
To Make
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
Toss trimmed asparagus spears with 2 teaspoons olive oil and salt. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Roast in oven for about 20 minutes, checking spears and flipping them every 5-10 minutes. When finished, the tips of the spears should be brown and the flesh a rich olive green.
Combine all hummus ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth, adding more water if needed, a tablespoon or 2 at a time. Transfer to bowl, season to taste. I use 3 dashes hot sauce and an extra tablespoon or 2 of water.
In a small bowl, stir together yogurt-dill sauce ingredients. Season with salt and lemon juice, to taste.
Prep veggies. Warm pitas, if desired, in microwave (wrapped in a clean towel) or in the oven, wrapped in aluminum foil.
When all components are complete, build the gyros. Spread 3-4 tablespoons of hummus across each pita. Top with 4 asparagus spears, shredded lettuce, chopped onions and about 2 tablespoons dill-yogurt sauce.
Radiate Food Vibes 