Vegetable & Quinoa stack

Quinoa benefits:

I love quinoa, it not only tastes amazing but it is a must have for any vegetarian diet as it is one of the most protein-rich foods we can eat. It is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids.                       

Quinoa has almost twice as much fiber as most other grains. 

There are two kinds of fibre: Soluble and Insoluble.  

Soluble fibre forms a sticky gel that acts like a protective coating inside your digestive track, preventing irritants from causing issues like cramping and gas.

Insoluble fibre soaks up water as it passes through your intestines, helping to bulk up, weigh down, and soften your stools. 

Both kinds of fibre are important in sweeping things along from your stomach to your intestines to your stools and out! Eat more fibre gradually as your body will need to get used it. Drink loads of water, which fiber needs to work well.

 

Vegetable & Quinoa stack, topped with haloumi & turmeric/tahini sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe:

Quinoa mix:

Tin of tomato
1 onion
2 Garlic clove
1 tsp. mixed herbs
1 tsp. cumin
Pinch chilli flakes - optional
1 cup quinoa (cooked)

Cook as you would rice, 1 cup of quinoa - 2 cups of filtered water. I like to add a pinch of vegetable stock when cooking my quinoa.

Most packaged quinoa has already been rinsed for convenience. I still like to rinse my quinoa before using to remove the saponins and to make the grains more digestible. You can either use a fine strainer, a container or cheesecloth to rinse the quinoa.

How do you rinse your quinoa?

Here I used a container, soaked the quinoa for about 10 minutes and used the lid drain the water. I did this three times before cooking my quinoa.

 

 

 

In a pan cook onion, garlic, tomato, herbs and spices and add cooked quinoa. Take off the heat and leave a lid on to keep warm.

 

Vegetables

Pumpkin - cut into thin slices
Carrot - cut into slices
Zucchini - cut into strips
Potato - cut into thin slices
Broccoli with stalks - cut small
Spinach

I quickly steamed the vegetables (3mins)

Line a tin with baking paper, add a layer of potato followed with a layer of quinoa mix. Follow these steps with the rest of the vegetables.

Finish with a top of quinoa mix and freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Bake for about 15minutes.

I topped mine off with some grilled haloumi cooked in a separate pan.

For the sauce: 2 tbsp. Tahini with freshly grated turmeric and dash of olive oil mixed together.

 

 

Peace n love

Jeanette