I’ve been taking this weight training/fat burning class for months, twice a week, and noticed that on some days it makes me hungry all day. I needed a plan to eat something powerful as soon as I walk in the door

After talking to my trainer, she suggested I eat carbs and protein after her killer workouts, because the workouts are designed to deplete glycogen. The workouts put our bodies into a serious fat burning mode, but if some of that is not replaced with carbs, we will lose our energy for the rest of the day.

I took a food sensitivity test a few weeks ago and it has been suggested that I refrain from several foods including apples and eggs for 8 weeks. I tend to eat those two foods every day, so this was a big disappointment. Other foods on the list included oats and gluten and gluten free flours like potato starch and then odd foods I never eat like chick peas. Having almost no grain choices or my go to eggs, outside of smoothies, I had very few breakfast choices I could bite into.

This is where red quinoa comes in. I like the chewiness of red quinoa and wondered how it would work as a breakfast item, perhaps a porridge or granola replacement.

I started to eat it hot, but it ended up being really good with fruit and cold milk. Next time I’ll be putting in some toasted nuts, which will give me crunch and more fat and protein.

How to Cook Red Quinoa 

This is so easy. Rinse thoroughly with a mesh strainer for two minutes. Add to saucepan with twice the amount of water and dash of salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Watch your pan. I once burned mine. Done.

Red quinoa has a bit of chewiness to it, so it’s better than cereal or oats or any other cooked grain I’ve tried. Paired with blueberries that have been sweetened with stevia (or honey) and it’s most amazing.

I’m also told to stay away from coconut and almonds, but fortunately I have no sensitivity to dairy. Hooray for that, but you could easily use almond milk or coconut milk. You can switch out the fruit, but for a serious brain boost, use blueberries and walnuts.

I cook it before I go and I take frozen blueberries out and sprinkle with stevia, and by the time I come home 90 minutes later, the blueberries are sweet. I add milk and the milk turns blue which is why I didn’t show that in the photograph. It has that appeal that cereal has, yet it’s low glycemic and oh so healthy.

More things you can do with red quinoa for breakfast:

Add yogurt instead of milk.

Add toasted nuts, such as almonds or pecans. This reminds me of granola, but is not so calorie dense.

Add dried fruit, like dried cranberries or cherries.

Eat it HOT instead of cold like a porridge, by adding in warm milk, not cold.

Add cinnamon sugar or maple syrup.

If you want red quinoa for Lunch try this amazing super anti-oxidant salad with red quinoa and red beet pesto.

Here is a savory Italian inspired salad with Red Quinoa, Brussels Sprouts with Parmigiano Reggiano,

So tell me, do you eat a good breakfast and have you ever tried red quinoa?

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How to Cook Red Quinoa for a Power Breakfast

Red quinoa for breakfast with fruit, either hot or cold.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon stevia or swerve, an erythritol blend
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or nuts of choice
• milk

Instructions

• Rinse quinoa well in mesh strainer. This will take about two minutes. You must rinse off the saponin or the quinoa will be bitter.
• Put both quinoa and cold water in a sauce pan.
• Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Add salt.
• Lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle blueberries with stevia or swerve and let sit while quinoa is cooking.
• Serve quinoa with berries, nuts and almond milk.

Notes

Almond Milk is not counted in nutrition values.

The post How to Cook Red Quinoa for a Power Breakfast appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

In the old days, this was simply a healthy salad.  Now, when I write about it, I think what are the limitations to this super healthy salad with saved brussels sprouts, red beet pesto, and red quinoa and what are the real benefits?

Whether you’re vegan, paleo, primal, or gluten free, this salad is for you with a caveat. The quinoa addition is the gluten free option, but not the paleo option, unless you’re going primal (following the Primal Blue Print as I do, and even then, it could be questionnable).  The parmigianno reggiano cheese is an option that can be removed for any vegan or strict paleo, but okay for primals.

The red beets would never work for something strictly low-carb, but don’t count them out entirely. The only thing I can never promise you is a low-fat option, because I never ever count my fat.  I love my extra virgin olive oil, and I’m never giving it up. I also vow never to use the word evoo!

If I just drove you crazy with these options and exceptions, imagine how we food bloggers feel. We want to please everyone, especially those committed to good health, but I cannot compromise the taste or joy of good food, with mostly false information about fat. I’m the ultimate super food lover, but I will not be seen with salad dressing on the side.

Whichever way you choose to make this, one bite of the shaved raw Brussels Sprouts mixed with this most delicious red beet pesto,  and you will want more. The nuttiness and earthiness of the beet pesto has an umami effect, and the crunchiness of the raw shaved Brussels sprouts satisfies that need we all have to crunch down on something. The red quinoa can be optional, but it adds the chewy texture and the protein, so this could be a complete meal. It’s stir fried after it’s cooked, which changes the texture a bit for the better.

Why this Healthy Salad with Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Red Beet Pesto is Good for You!

Brussels sprouts, a member of the cruciferous, is the hipster vegetable of the moment, showing up in every kind of casual to fine dining restaurant because, like beets, they are available in the winter, and we’re all environmentally less guilty about that right?

If you need a reminder on why beets on good for you, I listed ten benefits here. Not the coolest or hippest seed as of late, often left back in the 1980’s, Sunflower seeds, are a super healthy antioxidant seed, full of Vitamin E , and a good source of selenium, calcium, manganese, and zinc. Extra virgin olive oil promotes cardiovascular health, good cholesterol, antioxidant protection for our blood vessels, is an anti-inflammatory, promotes bone health, brain health, lowers certain cancers, and seriously makes food taste better! Garlic is another food with super powers, promoting heart and brain health and protection from certain cancers, and much more. We like it for flavor.

So we have the health requests, the vegans, the vegetarians, the gluten free folks, the environmentalists and the paleo people covered, sort of. You’ll know what adjustments you need to make, but whatever you do, take the beet pesto idea and run with it. It made this salad a dream, and one I would put on any restaurant menu,  especially the hipster ones, but put it in your own kitchen, or do what I did. Deem it good enough to take to the Nashville food blogger’s pot luck.

I’m known for bringing this kale salad, to our blogger events,  and there was one couple who was disappointed that I didn’t bring it, but, hopefully, I’ve opened up some eyes about beets and Brussels sprouts. One new blogger that joined us hated beets before she tasted the salad. She still hates beets. Just kidding. She liked it. Does this makes me a vegetable evangelist!

The red quinoa is cooked, toasted a bit in the frying pan,  then tossed with freshly grated pecorino cheese.  The Brussels salads are shaved and raw, tossed with a bit of olive oil and lemon, salted and thrown into the frying pan with the red quinoa for just a snap and then tossed heartily with the beet pesto. The beet pesto brings this salad to it’s best self. I’ve made a different version of same salad here, delicious enough, but this is a case of more is more. It’s hard to get healthier than shaved Brussels Sprouts and Red Beet pesto.

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Super Healthy Salad- Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Beet Pesto

A super antioxidant powerhouse salad of raw Brussels sprouts, raw beet pesto, and red quinoa with olive oil, lemon and pecorino cheese.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon juice from fresh orange
• ¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa optional
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• red beet pesto

Instructions

• Rinse Brussels Sprouts thoroughly. Remove some of the large outer leaves to roast.
• Using a mandolin, shred Brussels sprouts or using a chef’s knife, slice thinly.
• Mix together olive oil, lemon zest.
• Mix Brussels sprouts with olive oil dressing just until sprouts are wet. Set aside. You will reserve the rest of the dressing for later.
• The quinoa is optional and a great addition for added protein and heft.
• Cook quinoa. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in mesh strainer under running water for two minutes. Place in pot with two cups water and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, cook for 15 more minutes. Place remaining olive oil in saute pan with 1 clove minced garlic. Lightly saute
• Add in one tablespoon butter and smoked almonds. Add quinoa.
• Stir for about two minutes to toast.
• Add in ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour toasted quinoa over the raw Brussels sprouts.
• Add in orange juice. Stir.
• Toss with 1/2 to 1 cup of red beet pesto.
• Serve at room temperature.

The post Super Antioxidant Salad: Shaved Raw Brussels Sprouts with Raw Red Beet Pesto appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Red Quinoa is a dish one cannot stop eating after the first bite. There is a lot going on with the varying textures from toasted quinoa, smoked almonds and raw Brussels sprouts, but it’s the powerful flavor from the king of cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano, that makes this dish a true winner. This is truly a super food ensemble, and can be served  as a side dish or main vegetarian dish, as quinoa is a complete protein.

When Legends from Europe invited me to participate in a recipe contest, I was excited. I’m Italian. I appreciate the fabulous imported meats and cheeses of Italy. I got to choose either the cheese or meat category and I chose cheese and was assigned Parmigiano Reggiano.

I would have been equally content to be assigned one of the other cheeses, but Parmigiano Reggiano and I go back a long long way, and this cheese has had a prominent place in many recipes here. I grew up eating parmigiano reggiano, always grated freshly at the table. I used to be perplexed because the rind was hard and had writing on it, and through a little girl’s eyes, I didn’t understand that this meant something very special.

The Brussels sprouts are shredded with a mandolin, marinated for a while in olive oil, lemon and garlic and then briefly returned to the pan of toasted quinoa and smoked almonds. The cheese is added in to the quinoa which benefits greatly from its robust flavor and added in once again to finish the dish. The smokiness of the almonds is a nice compliment to the Parmigiano Reggiano.

This can be a first course dish or a side dish, but feel free to make it your main dish, your meatless Monday, or your vegetarian option at the Holiday table. However, you choose to serve Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, be sure to use authentic Parmigiano Reggiano.

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Legends from Europe: Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, Parmigiano Reggiano

A combination of raw shredded Brussels Sprouts, red quinoa, flavored with lemony dressing and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Course Side Dish or Salad

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese divided
• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
• 1/4 cup smoked almonds chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6-8 sage leaves

Instructions

• Rinse Brussels Sprouts thoroughly. Remove some of the large outer leaves to roast. Toss the outer leaves with a little olive oil. Roast at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the leaves are crispy. These will be used for garnish at the end,
• Using a mandolin, shred Brussels sprouts or using a chef's knife, slice thinly.
• Mix together olive oil, lemon zest.
• Mix Brussels sprouts with olive oil dressing just until sprouts are wet. Set aside. You will reserve the rest of the dressing for later.
• Cook quinoa. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in mesh strainer under running water for two minutes.
• Place in pot with two cups water and 2 teaspoons salt.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, cook for 15 more minutes.
• Place remaining olive oil in saute pan with 1 clove minced garlic. Lightly saute
• Add in one tablespoon butter and smoked almonds. Add quinoa.
• Stir for about two minutes to toast.
• Add in 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour toasted quinoa over the raw Brussels sprouts.
• In separate small saute pan, make a browned sage butter. Brown the butter on medium heat. Add in the remaining minced garlic with sage leaves, until leaves are crisp but not brown.
• Pour sage browned butter over quinoa and brussels sprouts. Mix thoroughly.
• Top with remaining Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and almonds, Roasted Brussels Sprouts leaves for garnish.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Legends from Europe is a 3 year campaign funded by the European Union and launched in the U.S. to increase awareness and celebrate “the legendary quality, tradition, and taste” of five authentic PDO products (Protected Designation of Origin) from Europe – Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di San Daniele, Grana Padano and Montasio.

The post Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Red Quinoa, Parmigiano Reggiano appeared first on Spinach Tiger.