Quinoa: 5 Ways

Some days, we just need to lighten up, don’t you think?  Today is one of those days.  We’re not going to talk about heavy stuff like fear or worry or stress or, shhhh, cancer.  We’re going to talk about food.  And who doesn’t love food??  :)

I mentioned last week that one of the super foods that is so good for you is quinoa.  (This is pronounced keen-wah if you’re curious.)  I’ve been searching for recipes that use quinoa so that I can give it a try.  I’m not a super-picky eater, but I am picky.  And sometimes food scares me which prevents me from trying it.  I know it’s silly, but that’s how I am.  It really makes no sense when you think about it because you would think that if food scares me a McDonald’s cheeseburger would terrify me, but…it doesn’t.  Ha!

So I thought for today, I would share five of the best looking recipes I’ve come across.  Who knows?  Maybe one of you who haven’t eat this before will get a wild hair and decide to give quinoa a try, too!

1. Quinoa-Spinach Bake

This recipe uses quinoa, spinach, and cottage cheese.  Add in a little onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary plus a few other essentials and you have a tasty looking dish.  Would you eat this as a main dish or a side dish?  Maybe something to eat for lunch?  You can find the recipe here: http://www.wholeliving.com/133027/quinoa-spinach-bake.

Photo: Richard Gerhard Jung for Martha Stewart Living

2. Easy Vegan Sloppy Joes

This recipe is courtesy of one of my truly wonderful blog friends, The Savvy Sister.  Susan came up with what looks like a pretty delicious version of sloppy joes using quinoa AND she says her husband, the carnivore, loves them.  Pretty good endorsement, don’t you think?  You can find this recipe at Susan’s site: http://sisterearthorganics.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/easy-vegan-sloppy-joe-a-carnivore-converter-recipe/.

Photo: Sister Earth Organics

3. Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

This recipe is from allrecipes.com and the reviews on it are pretty good.  Since I like burgers, I thought it might be a good one to try.  It combines black beans, quinoa, bread crumbs, yellow bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, and ground cumin.  It also calls for hot sauce, but I would not be including that because I steer clear of hot sauce.  I’m a wimp.  :)  You can find the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-black-bean-burgers/detail.aspx.

4. Summer-Fresh Quinoa Salad Recipe

From Taste of Home, this recipe looks light and colorful (and we know that it is good for us to eat a variety of colorful vegetables).  The quinoa is combined with cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, and green, sweet red, and yellow peppers to make what looks like a delicious side dish that could go with maybe grilled fish or chicken.  You can find the recipe here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Summer-Fresh-Quinoa-Salad.

Photo: Taste of Home

5. Quinoa and Potato Croquettes

I can’t go completely healthy so I’ve included a recipe that takes quinoa and then fries it!  :)  Using quinoa, potatoes, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, and panko bread crumbs, Cooking Light came up with a non-meat main dish.  It doesn’t look too bad as far as calories and fat go, either, especially for a main dish: 9 grams of fat and 347 calories per 2 croquette serving.  I think this is definitely one I could try.  You can find the recipe here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-potato-croquettes-10000000388862/.

Photo: Karry Hosford for Cooking Light

And there you have it!  Five delicious looking recipes using quinoa.  Let me know if you decide to try any of these!

Have a wonderful day!!
♥ Rachel

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