Whether you’re a parent or not, sometimes you just want a quick, simple dish to prepare, to fill one or more hungry tummies. It’s obviously key to tick the box for good nutritional value as well as a speedy feed. Using quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) ticks a big box as it’s high in protein, which is vital for rebuilding muscle tissue broken down through normal bodily functions. To help promote lean muscles and well as aid the body in doing it’s job, protein should be a part of every meal/snack you consume.
If you’re not already using quinoa, give it a try. As well as being high in protein, quinoa is gluten-free, high in fibre a good source of iron and magnesium. Without further ado, for a tasty and nutritious meal with minimal washing up (yessss!) read on. — I made this last week and it’s lovely! It’s definitely going to be a regular mid-week easy meal.
One-Pan Mediterranean Quinoa
Ingredients:
Serves 2 as main (or 4 as a side)
2 cups / 500 ml water
1 cup / 6 oz / 170 g quinoa, picked and rinsed
1 medium onion, very thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz / 283 gr cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Handful fresh basil leaves, chopped (plus more for garnish)
Directions:
1. Add each ingredient to a pot as you finish preparing it.
2. Bring uncovered pot (no lid necessary) up to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer (turn heat down to the lowest setting), cover and cook for 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Let stand for 5 minutes, covered.
4. After 5 minutes, remove the lid, and gently fluff with a fork.
The quinoa should be perfectly cooked and the cooking water should be completely absorbed (you should see tiny spirals (the germ) separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds). If not, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for additional 5 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.
5. Sprinkle with basil ribbons, drizzle with olive oil and eat immediately.
Nutrition facts:
One serving yields approximately 426 calories, 12 grams of fat, 68 grams of carbs and 13 grams of protein.
This recipe is from a great blog I discovered a while ago, The Iron You, run by a guy called Mike who lives in New York.
