Quinoa Pilaf

Along with avocados, Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is on the list of my current food obsessions.

When I was a kid, my mom would frequently fix Quinoa for dinner. I recently rediscovered it and we've been eating it at least once a week around here for the last month or so.

Although it is most commonly considered a grain, it is actually the seed of the Chenopodium plant and is more closely related to beets and spinach. Quinoa is considered to be a complete protein because it contains all eight essential amino acids. Not only is it loaded with protein, it's a great source of iron and magnesium and is gluten-free.

It's a fast meal too! It cooks in under 15 minutes and could easily replace rice in all your recipes. We aren't big fans of it cooked plain, but as a pilaf? Yum!

Quinoa Pilaf

2 cups quinoa, cooked

1 green bell pepper

1 zucchini

2 small carrots

1 medium onion

5 cloves garlic

2 TBSP. olive oil

Chop up all your veggies very fine (or chunky if that's the way you like it!).

Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil.

Add veggies and cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add veggie mixture to quinoa and blend gently with a fork.

My dear husband is not a fan of anything that tastes "healthy" and even he gobbles this up. I improvise with whatever vegetables I happen to have on hand, so I can usually make this even when it's almost time for a grocery run. Last night we had this with grilled salmon - Mmmmmm! The leftovers are great over salad too!