Eating healthy food is such a huge part of getting and staying in shape. So today on What Are You Weighing For, we have a treat for our readers. This extremely healthy dish can be served as a snack, side, or main course. This recipe has been adapted from a recipe found on allrecipes.com. The original can be found here.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 onion chopped (I didn’t include this, instead I added a little onion powder for flavor. I hate the texture of onions!)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed. (Or you can use a little minced garlic, or garlic powder)
3/4 c. uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1.5 cups vegetable broth (If you prefer, you can sub in chicken stock)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayanne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 c. frozen corn kernels, or 1 can of corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until lightly brown.
2. Add the quinoa to the saucepan and then pour in the broth. Add cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, and stir. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the corn and black beans and simmer for about 5 minutes, until heated through.
And there you have it. A wonderful, healthy side dish that is under 200 calories per serving, and packed with fiber and protein. Quinoa is the only grain that is a complete protein, so try and start incorporating it into your meals when you don’t want to add fatty meats. You can even ditch the treadmill workout after such a healthy meal without feeling too bad!
If you want to really jazz it up, you can add cooked chicken for the last 5 minutes of simmering, and then use it as a taco filling. Just add sour cream, avocados, cabbage, shredded carrots, and/or salsa. While this will increase the calorie count, for a full and healthy meal, it’s still definitely worth it!
You can also serve this as a cold type of “salad.” It’s so versatile. Feel free to try it with some adjustments of your own. You may even want to add some of these tasty foods that fight belly fat!
Enjoy!