Sew what's cooking with Joan!: Cabo Quinoa Salad!

Everyone is talking about a hot little seed from the Andes mountains that seems to have found its way onto every menu this year.

Quinoa (properly pronounced as “Keen-Wah”) is a type of whole grain/seed. It cooks up quicker than other whole grains (just 10 to 15 minutes) and it’s naturally vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and cholesterol free. Quinoa has the highest protein content of any other grain, and it contains all 8 amino acids (so it’s good for you) It’s prepared just as rice is prepared with one part quinoa to two parts water. It’s important to rinse quinoa well before cooking it since it’s coated with a naturally occurring plant chemical that can cause a bitter taste. It’s super fine though, so you’ll need a fine mesh strainer to use for rinsing.

Having lived in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico for a few years, I experimented with some different recipes to give Quinoa, that Sassy kick that Mexican food has. This is one, that I like to make for lunch, I add a little chicken or shrimp sometimes, for more protein.

I buy Quinoa from Trader Joes, (Trader Joes has the fancy, black, red, white mix in one bag) and cook it in my rice cooker. It makes a lot so I freeze in one cup increments, take it out when ever I want, to add it to my salad. I just love it, and mix it with what ever I have around.

Cabo Quinoa Salad

Dressing:
1 1/2 T grapeseed oil or other healthy oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad:
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well through a fine strainer/sieve
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 cup of thawed frozen corn
lime wedges
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Rinse the quinoa.

3. Prepare the quinoa according to package directions or in a rice cooker. In a rice cooker, the formula is the same as rice, 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. After it is cooked, allow to cool.

Finished cooking.

4. In a medium bowl, toss the quinoa with the tomatoes, corn and cilantro. Add the dressing and toss to coat everything. Squeeze lime on top, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

5. Serve with lime wedges, for individual squeezing.

Four servings

Nutritional Information per serving:
Serving size: 1/4th of the salad
Calories per serving: 258
Fat per serving: 8.4g
Sugar per serving: 4.3g
Fiber per serving: 4.4g

*A tip for storing your parsley and cilantro

I put mine in a cup of water and cover with a plastic produce bag, it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks, or more, in the refrigerator. Just change the water every few days and if need be, trim the stems about 1/4" every week.

And for my Smoothie friends:

Fresh Fruit Smoothie

8 ounces frozen strawberries
1 c. sliced frozen sliced peaches
2 blackberries
1 c. apple juice
1 tsp. flax seed oil
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 tsp. stevia or splenda or honey

Combine the strawberries, peaches and blackberries in a blender. Add the apple juice, flax seed oil, protein powder and stevia. Process on high speed for about 1 minute, adding additional juice if smoothie is too thick or berries, if it is too thin.

*Pour into chilled glasses and garnish with a strawberry. We eat with our eyes!!

~

A Healthy New Look!

Quaker Oats Man Gets Subtle Makeover

At age 135, the man on the Quaker Oats label has never looked better.

The plump, beaming, white-haired man known as “Larry” recently got a makeover, making him look slimmer and a little bit younger.

It’s a very subtle makeover that is not obvious to shoppers. He still has his hat and his snowy white hair.Designers at Hornall Anderson, the Seattle-based firm charged with Larry’s new look, took away his double chin and some of the plumpness from his face and neck, Michael Connors, the firm’s vice president of design, told the Wall Street Journal. “We took about five pounds off him,” Connors said.They also shortened his hair slightly and revealed more of his shoulders, making his neck look longer.

I sure hope I don't have to wait until I'm 135, to get a makeover!!

Jazz on the Mountain