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.