OKAY hi guys,
Ughhhh I know I know. I’ve been awful at posting. I find that when I’m stressed/overwhelmed, I don’t post as much, which is sad. I should be doing the opposite. Anyways. Hi! This post is dedicated to quinoa.
Okay I know, I’m like, 2+ years late on the quinoa bandwagon. It got so much hype a couple years ago because it’s sooooo healthy la di da (it’s actually not thaaat healthy…it’s still a grain. But as far as grains go it’s about as good as you can get, I guess) For a while I just avoided quinoa simply for that reason; it was trendy. Which annoyed me. There are so many dumb food trends (don’t get me started on tofu) and I thought this was just another one. I mean, it kind of is, just a slightly less dumb one. Alsooo there’s the fact that my lovely friend Marianne and I thought the word quinoa was hilarious, so it kind of became a joke and I just never bothered to try it. Despite all the silly trendyness and such, quinoa is actually not bad at all. Recently I’ve been making breakfast quinoa and today for a dinner side I made a quinoa salad (thanks for the recipe, Amanda!). The breakfast quinoa is like a just-as-delicious-but-slightly-healthier oatmeal. Although it’s not as quick and easy as my avocado toast, when I’m not feeling quite so lazy I love to make it in the morning. The quinoa salad is a yummy, summery side that would be a great barbecue addition. Try quinoa! Heh. Okay, maybe the name still is a little funny.
Breakfast Quinoa (for one!):
1/4 c. quinoa
1/2 c. milk (plus another splash to put on top, if you want)
1/2 banana, sliced
dried fruit
chopped walnuts
dried coconut
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Bring the quinoa and the milk to a boil in a saucepan then bring it down to a simmer for about 13 minutes until the grain is fully cooked and the milk has boiled down. Pour your cooked quinoa into a bowl and add your goodies! As you can see, I added banana, a little dried fruit medley, walnuts, coconut, and cinnamon, but you can really add anything you want. That’s it! You’re good to go.
As for toppings, I’ve tried a bunch of different things; I find I don’t really need to sweeten it with anything other than the fruit, but some people like to add honey or agave nectar or something like that. I also love to add a splash of milk to my oatmeal, so I poured some on top of my quinoa as well. Fresh berries are also delicious; I’ve put in cut up raspberries and blackberries before and it was yummy. Pretty much anything you can put in oatmeal you can put in here. It’s pretty much the same thing, anyways.
Ta daaa!
Quinoa Salad:
1 c. cooked quinoa, cooled (cooked in water this time, ladies and gents; we are no longer making breakfast)
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
1/2 c. tomato, chopped
1/2 c. cilantro
1/2 c. green onion, chopped
1/2 c. mango, chopped
1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lime zest
juice of 1 lime
Basically all you need to do here is cook the quinoa, cool it, chop up all the ingredients, and mix ’em together! The olive oil, lime zest and lime juice are all for a dressing, so mix those, pour over the rest of the ingredients and toss. There ya go! Easy.
The original recipe had a whole cup of cilantro, but since I’m not the hugest cilantro fan in the world I cut that down quite a bit. This should be served cold and is the perfect summer side salad. It’s crunchy and great. I did add a liiittle salt to my portion, I will admit, but otherwise the lime does the trick for adding some nice flavor to the dressing.
Enjoy your QUINOA, guys! (…the name is still funny, alright)
Love, Emily
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