We remember the first time we had heard of quinoa, a producer for the show, Good Day New York had called us to come on the show talk about some of the new foods that were hitting the market and asked us to talk about it. We hadn’t yet seen it, or even heard of it and we both remember reciting out loud “keen-wah, keen-wah” so that we wouldn’t mispronounce it on LIVE TV. Boy have times changed in just a few short years! Not only have we seen it, we’ve eaten it, cooked with it and gotten loads of requests to make even more creations. That’s why we made some of these healthy carb comfort foods like our Greek Quinoa Salad, our Quinoa & Veggie Stir-fry and our Breakfast Quin0a Nibbles just to name a few.
Quinoa’s one hot item — it’s a quality energy-providing carbohydrate, packed with protein (all nine-essential amino acids), fiber, and nutrients like magnesium that helps you to relax and manganese that mops up damage from free radicals! Plus, it’s pretty dang satisfying when you want some carb comfort ;), so dig in to our new creation! 🙂
Got the blues? Not your mood, your food!
That’s right, start by making your plate bright, colorful and mood-boosting. While seeing reds, yellows, and other bright colors on your plate lifts your spirits, these bright colors also help to keep your body healthy, when they naturally occur in your food—and that’s enough to make us smile! 🙂
Phytonutrients are plant nutrients that are responsible for the bright colors in fruits and veggies and that help to protect the body from chronic diseases like cancer. This quinoa salad is full of beautiful flavors and colors, so it’s packed with disease-fighting nutrients. G’afternoon red-purple dried cranberries, yellow-orange butternut squash, deep green kale and asparagus! .
Rainbow Quinoa
We suggest serving this delicious dish with a lean protein like grilled fish and with a side salad or steamed veggies. This easy side dish will last in the fridge for a week and it’s an easy snack that’s ready in your fridge!
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup diced butternut squash
- 10 chopped asparagus spears
- 1 cup washed, and cut up shredded kale
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Spritz sheet with olive oil. Lay butternut squash over foil and bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. At the 20-minute mark, throw in the asparagus.
- Finally, in the remaining 10 minutes, add the kale to the mixture.
- In a large bowl, add quinoa, cranberries.
- When the vegetable mixture is cooked, removed from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes. Then add to the quinoa and cranberries and stir to distribute contents evenly and enjoy!
Nutritional Information:
Per 1 cup mix
Calories 100; Fat 1g; Saturated Fat 0g; Carbohydrates 20g; Protein 4g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 12mg; Fiber 4g
- 1 cup diced butternut squash
- 10 chopped asparagus spears
- 1 cup washed, and cut up shredded kale
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Spritz sheet with olive oil. Lay butternut squash over foil and bake in oven for 30-40 minutes. At the 20-minute mark, throw in the asparagus.
- Finally, in the remaining 10 minutes, add the kale to the mixture.
- In a large bowl, add quinoa, cranberries.
- When the vegetable mixture is cooked, removed from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes. Then add to the quinoa and cranberries and stir to distribute contents evenly and enjoy!