When a friend had asked me if I cooked much with quinoa, I hated to admit that I did not.  I think I tried it once or twice and was not sure why I didn’t cook with it more.  It is tasty, flavorful and of course, a superfood.

After creating this dish today, we decided that Quinoa should be included in more of our meals and that this dish could become a regular.   I was so full and satisfied after eating this, along with about 3/4 cups of roasted potatoes.

This recipe combines sautéed mushrooms, onions, red peppers, raisins and pine nuts.  The addition of curry and cumin lend it a nice ethnic flavor.

For sauteeing, I like to use avocado oil.   I think it’s a great choice for a vegan diet.  If you want to compare, read this. It’s always hard to weigh out the options, when you get varying viewpoints.   I tend to like a lot of what Dr. Axe says on many health and food issues and this is what he says about avocado oil.

This can easily be a vegan main course and might be filling enough on it’s own.   It’s clean eating and only about 300 calories for a good size portion.  A great dish to try when you’re trying to lose weight.

 

Recipe (serves 2)   300 calories per person

1 Cup cooked quinoa

1 tbsp avocado oil

1/3 large red pepper, diced

1/2 small onion, diced

5-6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 cube mushroom bouillon

2 tsp garlic powder (divided)

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry

1/4 cup raisins

6 -7 leaves fresh basil, chopped

1-2 tbsp pine nuts

 

 

Cook quinoa according to package directions, and also add mushroom bouillon cube and 1 tsp garlic powder.

Pour avocado oil into a fry pan, and on medium low, sautee onions, red pepper and mushrooms until done – about 5 minutes.  When the quinoa is done, add it to the pan and also add 1 tsp garlic, cumin, curry, raisins, basil and pine nuts and heat over medium heat, flipping the mixture over often with a lifter, until the mixture is nice and hot.   Serve immediately.