Wait, I have a blog?
Oh, yeah! Sorry, guys. It’s been kind of a CA-RAZY week. I have a post in the works, but in the meantime I wanted to share two healthy, awesome recipes with you. One is an awesome salad from Fat Free Vegan, one of my favorite food blogs. The other is my personal recreation of one of my favorite restaurant sandwiches. Enjoy!
Note: For this recipe, I’ll put my own tips/substitutions in bold.
Quinoa:
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed very well
2 1/4 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
Vegetables:
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 medium-large tomatoes, finely chopped
kernels of 2 ears of cooked corn (about 1 cup) – I use raw organic white corn.
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas – If you buy these canned, make sure they are drained VERY well.
1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup parsley — minced – I use a mixture of parsley and cilantro. TONS of cilantro.
1/3 cup fresh mint — minced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced (reserve a few slices for garnish) - I use 2 because I love avocado.
Dressing:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (optional)
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
Combine vegetables in a large bowl. Add quinoa and mix well. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. Makes about 10 servings.
The dressing is really great, but I usually just put lime juice on the salad. The vegetables themselves are so flavorful that I like to keep it simple. Also, when I’m making this for my sisters, I don’t use the quinoa. They don’t care for it, so I just double the veggies and make a vegetable salad with lime juice. It is delicious and filling either way. Plus, it looks beautiful. Make sure it is chilled all the way before serving. You want it COLD. If you’re wondering how in the heck to cook quinoa, look here. You can also use a pressure cooker.
Next:
(My version of) Panera’s Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich
Ingredients:
Your favorite bread (I use organic sprouted whole grain bread)
Raw spinach leaves (They use Romaine lettuce, but I prefer spinach)
3 or 4 slices of organic tomato
6 slices of organic cucumber
3 or 4 rings of purple onion
6 or so peppadew peppers, sliced into strips (I like a lot, you may like less. They are available in mild and hot.)
Feta cheese crumbles, to taste
Hummus (They use cilantro hummus, which I haven’t made yet. I use Kalamatta Olive Hummus from Tom Thumb.)
Spread a generous layer of hummus on one slice of bread. On the other slice, stack your ingredients–spinach, then cucumber, then tomato, etc. Add some feta cheese, slap the two slices of bread together, and VOILA!
So, that’s what I eat all week. What are some of your favorite healthy recipes?
Looks yummy!
I always get that sandwich from Panera!!