Archive for February 8th, 2013

Leafy goodness

Posted on February 8, 2013. Filed under: Main Course | Tags: carrot, Healthy, kale. quinoa, vegetarian |

Thanks to Chopped and quite a few health food blogs that I’ve stumbled on, I’ve been dying to try kale and quinoa. I had been stopped on the quinoa because I couldn’t find it anywhere in town. I finally found a bag in the organic section of the Stracks on the north side of town, yea it cost me $6, but organic things normally do. Quinoa, from what I understand, is a grain from south America that is full of great nutrients, and kale is a lot like spinach, but the leaves are a lot more firm.

I’ve been trying to eat healthier, and both quinoa and kale are very good for you. I only eat meat when I hang out with Matt now, and I didn’t really eat to much this week as it is. He made chicken and rice for me on Monday (ok, so we did go to Steak and Shake after everyone went out, but I’m trying to forget!) and I had veggie burgers yesterday. Now, since I’m cutting out meat, I do need to find things that have protein and I know kale has that also.

For some reason, I decided to NOT follow a recipe for my first time cooking either of the ingredients (am I crazy? Yes, yes I am). But, there’s not much to what I made. I was afraid to just jump in because I’ve never had quinoa and and HATE cooked spinach so cooking the kale was nerve wrecking, but it turned out really well actually. I tasted the quinoa before I added it to anything, and I was surprised that it has a corn like flavor. The kale, luckily, didn’t cook down as much as spinach would and it doesn’t change flavors from raw to cooked.  I’m pretty proud of this super healthy dinner, and it’s not hard to make!

Warm Kale and Quinoa Salad

1 cp quinoa1 carrot, sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 bunches kale, chopped
dill, paprika, garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper to taste
Siracha (optional)

1. Cook quinoa, boil in a two cups of water until the shells start popping off. It’s not going to puff up like rice does, and it really only takes about 10 minutes to boil if you have the heat on high.
2. Saute the onion and carrot in some oil with the spices until the carrot is almost cooked. Add the cooked quinoa and saute for a few more minutes. Add kale and mix together until the kale has cooked down. If you want an extra punch, add some siracha right before you take it off the heat.