While I may have missed getting this out there before, both Canadian and American Thanksgiving, there are only 30 days until Christmas / Winter Solstice /Kawanzaa and only 12 days until Hanukkah! I love the smells and tastes of “holiday” foods and don’t think they should be reserved for just the holidays! The idea for this recipe came to me a few weeks ago when at the office, the distinct aromas of someone’s turkey dinner teased my senses. I really love stuffing, but my belly doesn’t tolerate wheat in large quantities, so I decided to experiment with quinoa and came up with this delicious gluten free but oh-so-tasty recipe.  And since quinoa offers up all essential amino acids, pair this with a green salad for a wonderfully nutritious and complete meal!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa – rinsed.

1 large celery stalk finely diced

1 small onion finely diced

¼ cup finely chopped parsely

1 tsp poultry seasoning (or herbes de provence)

½ tsp sea salt

1 bay leaf

1 small apple (any kind) diced (leave skin on)

½ cup loosely packed dried cranberries (apple juiced sweetened is best)

½ cup chopped raw walnuts

1 cup + 3 Tbsp vegetable broth (I used Pacific Foods Organic)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 ¼ cup water

Method:

In a medium saucepan warm 2Tbsp of broth and 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat for 1 minutes. Add onion, celery, poultry seasoning, and salt. Cook until onion is translucent and celery is slightly tender. Add parsley and 1 Tbsp of broth, stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Add quinoa and coat with onion-celery mixture. Add 1 cup broth and 1 ¼ cup of water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low (3/10), cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add apple, cranberries and walnuts. Cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Fluff with fork – and voila!!

*If you prefer a less sticky version, reduce the amount of liquid.

Hello friends! Summertime was wonderfully busy. I’ve enjoyed spectacular weather in Nova Scotia – the best I’ve experienced in my 3 years living here, actually.  After playing Nova Scotia tour guide to my friend, Jay and then my brother Omar, and a quick visit to my hometown, Toronto including a fantastic Health and Fitness Conference,  I’m back with a brand new blog post on one of my favourite and most-used foods – Quinoa! I get a lot of requests for quinoa recipes, so I thought I’d share my favourite ways to use this delicious and versatile grain.

Before I get into the recipes here’s a little information on this great food:

- It’s pronounced “keen-wa”.

- The taste is similar to rice…I say the taste and texture is a mix between brown rice and couscous, but I’ll let you decide for yourself.

- Quinoa may be a new food to North American tables, but it was cultivated in the mountainous regions of South America over 3000 years ago.

- Quinoa is actually a seed, or “pseudograin” and like it’s pseudograin sisters, amaranth, millet and buckwheat, quinoa is naturally gluten-free and easier to digest than other grains and wheat.

- Quinoa is a good source of iron, calcium and potassium and is high in B vitamins.

- Quinoa contains all 8 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein!

- 1 cup of cooked quinoa has approximately 200 calories, 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fibre.

Now for the recipes:

Basic Cooked Quinoa

Quinoa-Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl – delicious, filling and warming. A great breakfast idea anytime, but oh-so-perfect for those chilly fall and winter mornings.

Roasted Garlic Quinoa – adapted from Brendan Brazier‘s book ‘Whole Foods to Thrive’

Roasted Eggplant Quinoa Pilaf – my favourite quinoa recipe of the summer!

Quinoa Tabbouleh – adding an nutritional boost to this traditional Lebanese salad.

Leila’s Quinoa Salad – jam-packed full of goodness, this is my basic go-to quinoa salad all year long.

If you’re a quinoa “virgin” – I promise that adding quinoa to your diet is easy and tasty!

I hope you’ll try some of these recipes and let me know what you think!

As always, wishing you nourishment, wellness and happiness!

Leila

This is my basic go-to quinoa salad. The specific ingredients change depending on what’s in season and what is in my fridge. The one in the picture has radicchio, but that isn’t something I have on hand all year long. Here’s my basic recipe – I encourage you to add, subtract or multiply to make it your own!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup cauliflower florets

2-3 carrots (depending on size) chopped carrots

1/2 of small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 avocado chopped or sliced (your choice)

Dressing:

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea salt & black pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes (optional)

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to incorporate.

*I recommend adding the avocado just before serving so that it doesn’t get too mushy.

Yield: 3-4 servings

However you spell it, this is a great gluten-free way to amp up this delicious and popular Lebanese salad.

Ingredients:

2 bunches of parsley, washed, dried and finely chopped
4 roma tomatoes or 2 large hot house tomatoes diced very small
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 small onion finely chopped (white or red)
juice of 1 medium-large lemon
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP dried mint
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl. Mix well and let sit for about 20 minutes to let the flavours incorporate.

*I like to add diced English cucumber and avocado to this salad also!

Yield: 4 servings

What I did here was nothing short of genius, IMHO – I combined  roasted garlic quinoa with some summer fresh, in season eggplant. Here’s how:

Ingredients:

2 cups of roasted garlic quinoa (or plain cooked quinoa)

1 small-medium sized eggplant sliced horizontally, 1/2 inch thick (into circles)

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted.

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Place sliced eggplant on a cookie sheets and coat both sides with coconut oil. Place in oven for 6-8 minutes, turn slices over and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Eggplant should be tender, but not too mushy.

Meanwhile, to toast pine nuts: place pine nuts in small pan over medium heat. Move the pan around or use a spoon/spatula to keep the pine nuts from burning. Once they are slightly golden brown, remove from heat.

Remove eggplant from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. When cooled, chop the roasted eggplant into bite-sized pieces.

In a saucepan, on medium-low heat, add the cooked quinoa and the roasted eggplant and the remaining coconut oil (if desired). Stir gently to incorporate and heat for 3 minutes, until quinoa is heated through. Add the chopped parsley and stir to incorporate.

Garnish with toasted pine nuts. (not pictured).

Yeild: 2-3 servings

Infusing quinoa with the flavour of roasted garlic is soo delicious! Roasting garlic makes it sweet, and almost buttery…YUM!

(recipe is adapted from the Branden Brazier’s book ‘Whole Foods to Thrive’)

Ingredients:

1 whole head garlic

2 – 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1-2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp sea salt

*optional garnish ideas: chopped parsley, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh thyme leaves.

Method:

Roast the head of garlic; heat oven to 400 F. Cut off the top peak of the head of garlic. Place inside aluminum foil and drizzle with about 1/4 tsp of coconut oil. Fold foil loosely and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Once the garlic has cooled, squeeze the cloves out of the peel into a small bowl. Add the rest of the coconut oil and lemon juice, mix well.

Heat the garlic and coconut oil mixture in a small saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the cooked quinoa and sea salt. Stir to incorporate the garlic mixture and until the quinoa is heated through.

Garnish with fresh green herbs. (optional)

Yeild: 2-3 servings.

I make a batch of this at the beginning of the week and it’s ready to use in porridges, salads and pilafs for quick and healthy meals!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 3/4 – 2 cups of water (depending on how soft you want to make it)

Method:

Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer under cold water for about 30 seconds. In a small saucepan add the quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for about 15 minutes. When all the liquid is absorbed, remove pan from heat and fluff with a fork.

Yeild: 2 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa.

Embracing healthy living can mean changing the way we look at food. Oatmeal isn’t the only hearty grain on the breakfast block. Try this yummy superfood breakfast bowl – it will keep you satisfied for hours with the slow-buring complex carbohydrates of the brown rice and the complete protein of quinoa.  I usually make a batch of brown rice and quinoa on the weekend, so this recipe is quick and easy if you already have these grains cooked and ready to go! Oh – I should also mention that goji berries are a source of protein, too! But that’s material for a whole other post. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp goji berries, soaked for at least 10 minutes
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 1 Tbsp hemp hearts (optional)
• Small hand full of raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• Almond milk or coconut milk to taste

Method

Heat over stove top the brown rice and quinoa with either water or non-dairy “mylk”.

Transfer to a bowl. Add the re-hydrated goji berries and other toppings – add a splash of mylk if you like, and voila! A super-hearty, superfood breakfast is ready to fill you and nourish you.

Servings: 1