Quinoa Tabbouleh

I feel like quinoa is immediately labeled as a cardboard-flavored health-nut food, especially by me. It takes a lot for quinoa to taste like something other than mush. This recipe, however, breaks those stereotypes and I’m so glad. I have been looking for a healthy lunch option and this dish is healthy, easy and inexpensive. I can make a large batch and portion out servings for a couple of days; perfect timing, I was getting sick of soup and/or PB&J.  I think the tabbouleh is filling without any additions (a little goes a long way), but supplementing it with grilled chicken, tofu or eggplant would up the protein and ensure a full stomach. 

Ingredients

-        1 cup of quinoa

-        2 cups of water

-        1 bunch fresh parsley

-        1 bunch fresh mint

-        2 cucumbers

-        2 Roma tomatoes

-        2 scallions

-        1 lemon

-        2 tbsp olive oil

-        ½ tsp salt

-        ½ tsp pepper

Directions:

Rinse one cup of quinoa and drain; this removes excess starch. Bring quinoa, a pinch of salt and two cups of water to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 12 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff quinoa with a fork, turn into a large bowl and let cool.

While quinoa cools, finely chop parsley, mint and scallions; rough chop cucumbers and tomatoes. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt and zest of half the lemon in separate bowl. After quinoa is room temp, add minced herbs, chopped vegetables and dressing. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Seven Healthy Snacks to Keep You on Track

In an effort to detox a bit after Nashville, I am determined to keep healthy snacks around the apartment to ward off my chips & salsa habit and curb my chocolate & wine cravings. During February, I will be concentrating on healthier recipes, minus one or two Valentine’s Day cocktails, and periodically adding fitness content on my Health and Fitness Page. The Olympics and/or my desire to look like a supermodel on the Mexican beach in June may or may not be the culprit behind my sudden desire to be (swallow) very healthy. Oh well, February is a short month, sorry Dan. Below are seven of my favorite healthy snacks; all are simple to make and quite tasty. A couple of snacks will re-appear in full recipe posts later this month to keep me on track. Enjoy!

Healthy Snacks to Keep You on Track

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a mandolin or a paring knife, slice 3-4 apples thinly and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 20-25 minutes or until chips are golden brown. Chips will keep for up to a week in tightly sealed container.

Olive Oil Popcorn

-Heat 3-5 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Add ½ cup of popcorn kernels and lightly shake to coat kernels. Cover with lid and periodically shake pot back and forth until all kernels are popped. Add minimal salt to taste.

Banana with Peanut Butter and Nutella

-Slice one banana into 1-inch pieces. Drizzle banana with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter and 1 tbsp of Nutella.

Lemon Kale Chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop kale into ½ inch pieces and place into large bowl. Drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon) into the bowl; coat kale evenly. Lay kale on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the kale is dark green and crispy. I find the 12 minute mark to be perfect. Cool and serve.

Frozen Grapes

-Freeze a bag of grapes and enjoy!

Strawberry and Peanut Butter Toast

-Toast two pieces of whole wheat toast and spread with natural peanut butter. Top with freshly cut strawberries or other desired fruit.

Carrots and Hummus

-Dip baby carrots in plain hummus; sprinkle paprika for an added flavor boost. 

The Impeccable Pig

I’m going to keep this short and sweet today: Happy February! Keep Warm, Chicagoans; anywhere it’s above -3 degrees Fahrenheit, I’m jealous. I can’t wait to share highlights from my girls’ weekend in Nashville later this week along with details about the upcoming site redesign. A lot is going to change around here, for the better J. In the meantime, check out this amazing, Southern boutique! I can't get enough of The Impeccable Pig boutique and I was just tickled to find out they have an online shop! 

Finally: Embeya

I am so pleased to say I have finally been to Embeya, recently named Esquire’s best new Chicago restaurant, and I was blown away by my experience. After hearing wonderful feedback, I met one of my good friends for a leisurely lunch during restaurant week; accompanied with a glass of wine, a well- recommended Cabernet Franc, I was fortunate enough to sample several dishes from both the restaurant week menu and the traditional lunch menu. Each and every plate was impeccably dressed and tasted better than the previous. Among the sampled fare were the following stand-outs: green papaya salad, shrimp wraps, rice noodle salad, chicken roulade (pictured) and the fried banana dessert (I’ll take four more). I’m sure if I’d have sampled every item on the menu, this blog post would’ve looked more like a mouth-watering dissertation, but I digress; every employee was perfectly hospitable and a brief conversation with Attila Gyulai, himself, left me with nothing more than a desire to dine at Embeya every day. Thank you to everyone who made our lunch a pleasant one; I hope to return very soon and would encourage all looking for a new restaurant experience to give it a visit.