Healthy Eats

I've been on a quest to incorporate more beans and other grains into our meals this summer. We've done well with eating a rainbow of vegetables & fruits, so this was the natural next step.

While watching Food Network, I saw some cooks using quinoa so I decided we should try it out for ourselves. It turns out it has a high protein content, making it a perfect candidate for a meatless-Monday meal.

Quinoa is widely eaten in South America - the ancient Incas called it "the mother grain." Quinoa has a slight nutty flavor, but otherwise it is fairly bland. You can really play around with the ingredients you pair with it - how fun!

Here are some great facts I found online about quinoa:
* high protein content (12 to 18%)
* contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods
* good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus
* high in magnesium and iron
* gluten-free and considered easy to digest

When I made quinoa recently, I prepared it normally (takes 15-20 minutes to cook) and then I stirred it together with sauted onions & goat cheese. I then put this mixture into sweet peppers (cleaned out inside) zucchini boats (cut in half, seeds removed) and large portobello mushrooms. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to heat through - DELICIOUS healthy eats!