Spring Clean-spiration

With the most recent ReDux challenge on my mind, I started sifting through my cupboards. You might also be in a bit of a 'spring clean' mood/mode in your kitchen. I know my mom said she was working her way through a few things in her freezer. I took a look at my pantry and spices. I often look for recipe inspiration in my own kitchen and then perhaps google ingredients to see what I can try together. It's not only a great way to clean, but also to help with meal planning, and budgeting.

Source: HealthLine

I found some freekeh (young green wheat; an ancient grain) in my cupboard and decided to be brave and try it. I also have wheat berries that I've been meaning to use, and the two are very similar. Of course, I followed the cooking directions and my husband asked "what did you cook it in?" and I said "water" to which I think he was a bit disappointed, but we had mushroom pork in the slow cooker and peas to go along, so I think in the end he was satisfied with the flavours. He's perhaps more adventurous with spices and experimenting in the kitchen. I love my time in the kitchen, but I tend to be more of a baker (which my monthly foodie group could attest to), so I'm more of a rule follower (in life as well!).

Oats, pasta, rice, and tortillas are probably the grains we see more often in our kitchen, with the occasional quinoa, bulgar, barley, bread, pitas, English muffins, bagels, or naan. I enjoy big batch cooking to help us through our busy days. I sometimes make granola, spiced oatmeal, overnight oats, or breakfast quinoa to get us through a few rushed mornings. I think it's a great reminder that grains can be both savory or sweet. I also attempt to add them to salads; I've had many great salads with rice, quinoa, bulgar, pasta, and wheat berries, but it's not really in my repertoire yet. I just think it's a great way to make a salad into a meal, which I find many people do in the spring and summer months. There are many whole grains to play around with - check out this A to Z list for inspiration.

I just tried a lentil granola recipe since some of my clean-spiration is also motivated by new recipes I've come across recently. One recipe on my 'to-make' list this spring/summer is Tropical Breakfast Couscous.
What have you found in your cupboard or what's on your 'to-make' list right now?

Enjoy the sunshine!
Steph Langdon, RD
www.nutrishus.com

Quick and Slow {Recipe ReDux}

October 21 means Recipe ReDux reveal, and only 10 days until Hallowe'en.  This month the theme is No-Casserole Crock Pot.  Colder weather and busy schedules mean pulling out your crock pot (or slow cooker) and letting the meal cook while you're off at school, work, or play.  There are lots of ideas on line for quick and perhaps unconventional crock pot dishes.  Knowing that many of my clients comment on a lack of time, crock pots can be a life-saver.

The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you.  Dietitians taking part will share their recipes on the 21st of the month, so be sure to check back often for ideas on making both healthy and delicious food!

I know that prepping and chopping can also be time consuming, so I tried to keep ingredients straight forward and easy to throw together.  If you have the time, feel free to use dried black beans, fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, homemade salsa, etc..  I enjoy stuffed roasted bell peppers (there are so many different things you can fill them with), but I wanted to make that a quicker meal option.   

Quinoa and Bean Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 bell peppers
1/2 can (199ml or 7 fl oz) black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup canned, no-salt added diced tomatoes, with liquid
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
dash of salt

Garnish

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced


Directions
1. Rinse and halve the peppers, remove seeds and white membrane.  Place in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Rinse and drain quinoa and black beans

3. In a bowl stir together the quinoa, tomatoes, salsa, salt, cumin, garlic and beans.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly into peppers and allow them to overflow.

5.  Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for about 7-8 hours.  

6.  Scoop out each pepper and serve topped with grated cheese, and garnished with avocado and red onion.

*This recipe can also be doubled, you can make extra filling for leftovers, you can swap in ground meat or different varieties of beans.  I used extra corn, tomatoes, onion, avocado, and tomatoes for a salad the next day, or you can put them in a wrap, etc.

Enjoy the slow,
Steph Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

As the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians, The Recipe ReDux aims to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover. Thank you for visiting. We hope you enjoy!

Quinoa Breakfast

I searched old blog posts for this recipe yesterday, but it seems that I haven't shared it with you yet!  I enjoy it every once in a while to mix up my morning routine.  I cook the quinoa according to the directions, but I tend to add whatever fruit and nuts I have around.  This morning I added about 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds and 5 or 6 pecan halves.  Feel free to get creative with it!

 

Cold Quinoa Salad

4 Servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup

water

1/2 cup

apple juice

1/4 tsp

cinnamon

1/2 cup

quinoa, (dry measure), well rinsed and drained

1 large

apple, diced

60 ml

cranberry, dried, sweetened, optional

4 tbsp chopped

walnuts

2 cups

yogurt, fruit or vanilla, fat-free or low-fat

Directions
Place water, apple juice, cinnamon and rinsed quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.

Cool, transfer quinoa to a large mixing bowl and refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour.

Add apples, dried cranberries and walnuts to quinoa. Mix well. Fold in yogurt. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!
Steph Wheler, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

Friendly Potluck: Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Last weekend we invited some friends over for a potluck.  As I've mentioned numerous times, food is a large part of our society, but what better way to share food than to have your friends bring a dish over?  We don't like to plan our potlucks, so people just bring whatever they want or whatever they were inspired to make, bake, or create.  It's a great way to learn new recipes, see what others like to eat, and sample lots of different tastes at one meal.

I was personally inspired by the quinoa sitting in my cupboard, so I pulled out my cookbooks and came upon Vegetable Quinoa Salad in my Dietitian's of Canada Simply Great Food cookbook.  Quinoa (keen-wa) is an ancient grain from South America that is considered to be a complete protein.  It can replace rice in recipes, be used hot or cold, and is quite easy to cook.

Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

1 c quinoa, well rinsed and drained
2 c cold water
2 tomatoes chopped
2 large sprigs Italian (flat leaf) parsley (leaves only), chopped - I used dry parsley
1/4 English cucumber, chopped
1/3 c chopped red, green, yellow, or mixed bell pepper

Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, bring quinoa and water to a boil.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the white germ separates from the seed.  Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.  Remove lid, let cool and fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, cucumber, and bell peppers.  Stir in cooled quinoa.
3. Prepare the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, hot pepper flakes (if using), salt, and pepper.
4. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss to coat.

Per serving: 108 Calories, 5.1 g fat, 13.6 g carbohydrate, 1.6 g fibre, 2.6 g protein; high in magnesium

The Nutrishus Blog currently has one other recipe with quinoa: New Take on Carrot Cake and I have another breakfast favourite that I will post soon.  Happy potlucking...

Steph Wheler, RD
something nutrishus counsellign & coaching
www.nutrishus.com

A New Take on Carrot Cake

I recently tried a Quinoa Apple Carrot Cake recipe from the Company's Coming Whole Grain Recipes cookbook. The quinoa added a bit of a "nutty" taste in my opinion, but overall a moist and flavourful new recipe. I do have a sweet tooth, so I like to bake every once in awhile. Since this was the first time I tried this recipe, I didn't modify it (well I didn't add the salt - so I guess I modified it a bit!).

Ingredients

All-purpose flour 1 1/2 c

Baking powder 1 tsp

Ground cinnamon 1 tsp

Baking soda 1/2 tsp

Salt 1/2 tsp

Large eggs, fork beaten 3

Brown sugar, packed 1 c

Canola oil 2/3 c

Finely grated ginger root 1 Tbsp (or 3/4 tsp ground ginger)

Cooked quinoa 1 1/2 c

Grated carrot 1 c

Grated, peeled apple 1/2 c (such as McIntosh)

ICING

Cream cheese, softened 2 Tbsp

Milk 2 Tbsp

Margarine, softened 2 tsp

Vanilla extract 1/4 tsp

Icing sugar 1 1/2 c

Measure first 5 ingredients into large bowl. Make a well in centre.

Combine next 4 ingredients in medium bowl.

Add next 3 ingredients. Stir. Add to well. Stir just until moistened. Line bottom of greased 9 inch (22 cm) springform pan with waxed paper. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake in 325F (160C) oven for about 55 minutes until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Run knife around inside edge of pan to loosen cake. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack to cool completely. Remove and discard waxed paper from bottom of cake.

ICING: Beat first 4 ingredients in small bowl until smooth. Add icing sugar. Beat until smooth. Add more milk if necessary until spreading consistency. Spread evenly over top and side of cooled cake. Cut into 12 wedges.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com