Recipe: Healthy Quinoa Bowl

My mom left me home alone the other night, meaning I had to fend for myself for dinner that evening. I was pretty excited because I like to cook, but my mom always takes over in that department and I'm not left with a ton of room to make use of my creativity! I decided when I got home I wanted to make something pretty healthy, so I found a good variety of things in the pantry. I wound up mixing the most random things together, and it turned out amazing. Introducing: the healthy quinoa bowl.

The main part of the dish revolved around quinoa and edamame, two amazing superfoods that provide numerous health benefits. I used Trader Joe's edamame and Trader Joe's tricolored quinoa. I know some people are a little hesitant to try quinoa (or edamame, at that!), but I will be the first to admit they are actually tasty. I'm not the kind of person who can eat gross food just because it's healthy... but, lucky for us, these two are actually really good. And just a note, in my experience, I've found this particular quinoa doesn't quite turn out if made in the microwave, so I really recommend using the stove. Results will be a million times better.

Go ahead and make your quinoa and edamame and toss them in a bowl together. The serving size of quinoa is a 1/4 cup, which at first doesn't seem like a lot, but it grows when it's cooked, so it turns out to be a ton. I ate it all, but it was a lot of food and I really shouldn't have done that... haha. Edamame on the other hand, I would suggest making just a little more than the serving size.

Now is your time to get creative!! I suggest for sure adding a little olive oil (about a 1/2 tablespoon) and a big squeeze of lemon juice as a sort of dressing for the edamame and quinoa. I also was in the mood for pita chips, so I made my bowl more of a dip by mixing in about 2 tablespoons of hummus- so good. I also cut up a little tomato which was a really good burst of flavor.

Snack on this with pita chips or just eat it alone for dinner! I bet you could even use the bowl as a filling for a sandwich... yum.

And enjoy! Click below for the printable version of the recipe, which includes the nutrition facts. (This has over 20 grams of protein!!)

xoxo