Post by Emily on Mar 28, 2013 16:35:50 GMT -5
I love making quinoa pilafs. They're so easy, so healthy, so delicious, and so versatile! They taste great hot, room temperature, and even cold. I make them the most often during the summertime. I can just mix it up and pop it in the fridge for later. It's great for picnics too. Just grab and go!
Variations can be made of this easily, by using different spices, veggies, or meat. Here's the recipe for the one I made in this picture:
You'll need: * quinoa * chicken broth/water * salmon or other meat * onion * carrot * artichoke hearts (the oil-free kind - packed in water, or even frozen artichoke hearts, thawed) * parsley * turmeric * salt and pepper * lemon juice * 1/4-1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil * a bit of stevia (it might sound weird to put stevia in this, but it really makes a big difference!)
Put about 1/3 cup dry quinoa in 2/3 cup chicken broth or water and bring to a boil. Put the lid on and reduce to a simmer until all of the liquid has been soaked up and the quinoa has cooked - about 15 minutes. This should yield about 1 cup of quinoa, which is the proper E portion size. I really like using broth for this, because it ups the flavor a lot.
While the quinoa is cooking, pop a salmon fillet in the oven to bake, with salt and pepper and an optional squeeze of lemon. It only takes about 10 minutes. Or, you could use canned salmon if you prefer.
Now, while everything is cooking, finely dice a bit of onion and carrot. I used probably a couple Tbsp of each, diced quite small. I love them both raw, for some crunch, and a nice little kick from the onion.
Chop up a bit of parsley, and a few artichoke hearts. I bought mine packed in water quite inexpensively at Trader Joe's, in a BPA free can.
When the salmon is done, flake it with a fork and add it to the cooked quinoa. Add in all the veggies, along with about 1 tsp of turmeric (adjust to your liking, of course), and sea salt and black pepper, a couple of shakes of stevia extract powder (or a bit of truvia) and an optional 1/4 tsp or so of olive oil. You don't want too much oil, because salmon has some fat of its own and this is supposed to be an E meal so the fat needs to stay low. But the tiny bit of it helps cream everything together well.
Mix everything together, taste it to see if it needs more salt, and then finish it off with a good squeeze of lemon.
And there you have it! Salmon and quinoa are both incredible superfoods as well, which makes this meal even better! If you haven't in a while, read the sections on salmon and quinoa in the Foundation Foods chapter of the book to refresh your memory on how healthy this tasty meal actually is for you.
Another version I make of this, especially for a chilled version in the summer, is to use chopped chicken breast or even lean deli meat in place of salmon, and I use onion, celery, and cucumber as the veggies. Tomato would be delicious in there too.
In fact, I can't wait to go on a summer picnic so I can make this again!
Use any veggies you like, and feel free to change up the spices too. Turmeric is just my favorite with this dish. Sometimes I add ginger also.
If you have a hard time coming up with E meals, or figuring out how to eat veggies, grain, and some protein all together with almost no fat, and still enjoy your meal, try this out! You can get a huge bowl of it, depending on how many veggies you put in it, and it even keeps me full for a good while, which is saying something.