RECIPE: Quinoa Salad

Over the past several years, I have steadily been improving my diet and eating healthier foods. The first thing I did was cut out all processed foods from my diet. I went through my entire kitchen and boxed up all the processed food I could find. The next day, I took the food I collected and donated it to the local food cupboard. I replaced all of the processed foods with healthier choices. One of those choices was Quinoa. I love it!

Quinoa (pronounced /ki:nwa/) is a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It originates in the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Quinoa seeds contain essential amino acids like lysine and quantities of calcium, phosphorus and iron. It is considered superfood with a very high protein content. It is a good source of dietary fiber, and it's gluten-free.

One of my favorite recipes is for Quinoa Salad. This salad includes black beans, celery, red onion, and feta cheese. The one thing I really like is the spicy herb dressing for this salad. It includes garlic, dill, a jalapeno red chili, lemon and cilantro.

I have made this salad several times already, and it makes a great side dish to any healthy meal. I hope you enjoy the recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup of Quinoa (rinsed in cold water several times)
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
3 stalks of celery sliced
1 small red onion chopped very small
2 cups of cold water
Cubes of Feta cheese

Spicy Herb Dressing
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of cilantro
1/2 cup of dill
1 jalapeno red chili
Juice of 1 lemon

For the spicy herb dressing, process cilantro, jalapeno red chili, dill, and garlic to a course paste. Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice to the spicy herb dressing. Mix until well combined, and then transfer to a bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Place the quinoa in a saucepan and add 2 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the black beans, celery, red onion, and Feta cheese. Add the spicy herb dressing and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE: Quinoa and Parsley Salad

I made a slight change to this recipe originally from Cooking Light Magazine. The original recipe calls for pumpkin seeds, but I used shaved almonds instead. This is a very flavorful salad. The Quinoa packs a good amount of vegetable protein.

RECIPE:
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup shaved almonds

Preparation
1. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Spoon into a bowl; fluff with a fork. Add parsley, celery, onions, and apricots.

2. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and black pepper. Add to quinoa mixture, and toss well. Top with almonds.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 238
• Fat: 8.6g
• Saturated fat: 1.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g
• Protein: 5.9g
• Carbohydrate: 35.1g
• Fiber: 3.6g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 4.6mg
• Sodium: 172mg
• Calcium: 47mg

Pam Riesenberg, Millburn, New Jersey, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2010

DOCUMENTARY: Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

A little over a month ago I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead". I was intrigued by the title. The documentary is about a man by the name of Joe Cross who is 100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease. Joe's health was very poor and he weighed 310 pounds. He knew he needed to do something fast, otherwise he was headed for an early grave. Joe decided to hit the road and drive 3,000 miles across the U.S. while going on a 60 day juice fast. All he would drink for those 60 days is juice made from fresh fruits and vegetables. Along the way, Joe talked to over 500 Americans about food, health and longevity. He meets a lot of people who also want to live a better, healthy lifestyle. One of those people is Phil Staples. Phil is an obese man weighing 429 pounds. He too suffers from the same autoimmune disease as Joe. Joe helps Phil start his own juice fast and excercise program to get him on the road to health. This is a very inspiring documentary. I highly recommend it if you have been thinking of rebooting your life and start living a healthier lifestyle.

Less than a week after watching this documentary, I ordered a Breville juicer like the one Joe used. For the past month, I have been using my juicer everyday. I have been wanting to incorporate more nutritious food into my diet and juicing has allowed me to get the micro-nutrients my body has been missing. I have been slowly cutting out all the junk food, processed foods, sugar, salt, and any other foods bad for me out of my diet. My first step was cutting out soda from my diet. The was probably the hardest thing to do. I was raised on soda. I have been a Pepsi fanatic all my life. I would easily drink a case of Pepsi a week, if not more. It has been almost a year since I had my last soda, and now I don't miss it. Since I have been juicing, I feel better, have more energy, and my skin complection has improved. I have also noticed my finger nails have been growing faster. I have mentioned "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" to friends and family, and now six friends and family members are juicing also!

Joe Cross started a website called jointhereboot.com. The site has all the info you need to reboot your life with juicing. It offers juice recipes, nutritional information, and a large community of fellow juicers for guidance and encouragement. I'll soon be trying one of the juice fasts. I figured I would use my blog to document my experience with juicing. Below is a trailer of the documentary. Check it out.