Recipe: Creamy Quinoa & Vegie Salad

I’m lucky enough to have a full kitchen at work, so I often have a filling hot meal for my lunch. However when I’m traveling for work, life isn’t so easy.  I’ve been experimenting, trying to come up with a meal that can be made on the road, and is also tasty and filling.  The following is makes a decent amount – I normally get 4 good servings out of it.  Serve with some plain greek yogurt to the side.  This version uses hummus, but if you want to experiment, try some other low-kj dips instead!

I often make this in motels that just have a microwave – takes about 30mins to cook the quinoa plus an extra 5mins or so once the carrots have been added, depending on the microwave settings.  To keep it fresh, I normally individually portion out the greek yogurt into small takeaway containers (you can buy them from $2 shops), and mix just before eating.

 

Nutrition Info

Average serving with 50g of greek yogurt is 1380kj.  53g carbs, 5g fat, 17g protein, 974mg sodium, 16g fiber.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 500ml vegetable stock
  • 170g dry quinoa (approx 1 cup)
  • 250g broccoli (approx 1 bunch)
  • 300g cauliflower (approx 1/2 bunch)
  • 300g carrots (approx 4-5)
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 2 tsp Nando’s hot peri peri sauce
  • 2 leaves fresh mint, shredded
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 100g hummus (Coles “Light Hummus Dip”)
  • greek yogurt to serve (approx 50g per serve) (Chobani “Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt”)

Method

  • Mix the vegetable stock and water, and bring to a boil.
  • Add in the quinoa and boil for about 12 mins.
  • Meanwhile, steam the broccoli & cauliflower in the microwave, dump in ice water and set aside.
  • Add the carrots to the quinoa and boil for a further 7 mins.
  • Take off the stove and allow to cool.
  • Mix the garlic, Nando’s sauce, mint, vinegar and hummus through.
  • Fold vegetables and mint through, serve with yogurt to the side.

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie & PB Overnight Oats

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After my morning walk, I like to eat a filling and yummy, but low kj breakfast. The following is my first “overnight oats” recipe.  I intend to play with the base recipe, and try other variations in the future.  Makes about 4 serves, at about 200g per serve (ie a hearty serve!). I’ve kept it in the fridge for four days with no issues. Top with fresh strawberries and bananas to serve, can be heated if preferred.

This version is particularly pumpkin-y just because I like pumpkin! Pumpkin is great to add bulk without adding many kjs, and makes the dish deliciously creamy. It also isn’t super sweet. Increase the sugar and decrease the pumpkin as you desire.  I like to take this away on the road with me when I go away for work – I’m normally away for more than 4 days, so I mix up the dry ingredients before I leave into a zip lock baggy, then add the milk and pumpkin when I arrive. If I don’t have access to a microwave, I forgo the pumpkin.

 

Nutrition Info

Average serving with 1 banana (80g) and a couple of strawberries (40g) is 1365kj.  55g carbs, 7g fat, 10g protein, 83 mg sodium, 11g fiber.

Ingredients

  • 15g black chia seeds
  • 150g rolled oats
  • 24g PB2
  • 10ml vanilla essence
  • 8g brown sugar
  • a decent couple of shakes of cinnamon
  • half a pinch of ground cloves
  • pinch of ground nutmeg
  • pinch of ground ginger
  • 400ml almond & coconut milk
  • 250g steamed, mashed pumpkin

Method

  • Super simple – just mix together and put in fridge overnight.  Serve cold from the fridge or heat up in the microwave.