Quinoa Summer Salad

Here it is. The salad I currently salivate for each and every day. Mel posted it in the comment section of the previous post but I felt it deserved a day all to itself. So here it is. Make it. Eat it. Love it.


The Perfect Quinoa Salad

3 Cups Quinoa Cooked & Cooled

3 Sweet Potatoes - diced in 1/4 inch cubes
1 Tbls Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Toss potatoes in olive oil & Salt & pepper. Roast in the oven on 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until done/golden brown. Remove from oven, cool & add to quinoa.

4 Fresh Corn on the Cob--husks removed
1 TBLS Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Mix olive oil, salt & pepper in a bowl. Paint corn on the cob with the mix. This is a super fun activity to get the kids involved. It's fun & they can't really mess it up! Roast in the oven with potatoes about 20 minutes or until done. Rotate half way through. Remove from heat, cool & cut off the cob. Add to cooled Quinoa.

2 Bunches of Green Onions - chopped
3 Jalapenos--seeded & chopped
1 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Sautee green onions & jalapenos on the stove top with a bit of olive oil & salt & pepper until golden. Remove from heat, let cool & add to quinoa.

1 Bag Baby Spinach coarsely chopped
1 cup Pine Nuts

Add spinach & pine nuts to quinoa.

Dressing:
2 TBLS spoon Olive oil
3-4 limes juiced
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor & pour over the salad. You can always substitute water for the olive oil to make for a lighter version.

Toss it all together & serve either at room temperature or cold. Experiment with all sorts of other ingredients like mango, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pecans etc.

Enjoy all Summer long!

Vegemite

Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries.

Vegemite is one of the world's richest known sources of B vitamins, specifically thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid.

I also have a strong suspicion that it does not taste very good. That is just a hunch though as I have never tasted it. However, since we are moving to Australia later this summer I will likely have ample opportunity to try it.

That's right, I said we are MOVING TO AUSTRALIA. Western Australia. Perth to be exact. Eric has a wonderful career opportunity and the twins and I have an equally wonderful opportunity to live in a Mediterranean climate. I'm already planning my wardrobe and considering what my new beach-friendly hair style will look like. Thankfully my husband is concerned with more practical matters like finding housing, shipping our goods, learning to drive on the other side of the road and other minor details.

With that said, we are very busy packing up our home in Steamboat and temporarily relocating back East while we wait for the work visa and the rest of the details to fall into place. The actual move to Australia should take place later this summer.

As such, our very own Jeannie is going to start contributing recipes, tips, tricks and the like to FullAtLast on a fairly regular basis. She's going to keep the torch burning while I attempt to keep my head above water. I will still be posting, as time permits, but we will be hearing more and more from Jeannie which makes sense since so many of my recipes and ideas are "liberated" from her anyway.

I also encourage other readers with a taste and flair for healthy living and cooking to share your recipes and ideas with us. You can still email fullatlast@gmail.com with your thoughts, inspirations and recipes and either Jeannie or myself will get back to you as soon as possible and/or publish your guest post on the blog.

Finally, I need Mel to send the recipe for the most amazing salad she whipped up this weekend. My mouth waters for this salad. It's a medley of baby spinach leaves, fresh corn, sweet potato, avocado, quinoa and I forget what else, in a tangy little vinaigrette. So delicious. So nutritious. So satisfying.

And, it's another use for quinoa which should make Kelly happy since she has a very large bag of it in her pantry just begging to be used.

Quinoa Cakes

Let's hear it for quinoa ... again.

I know you thought we were done with our quinoa series last week but I just have to share this recipe for the little people in your life. Now, it's not really a recipe per se b/c I didn't measure anything and I just kind of made it up on the fly. However, that gives you complete creative freedom to add your favorite ingredients.

Combine a cup, or more, of cooked quinoa with 3 or 4 eggs, a 1/4 cup of cheese and several handfuls of whatever vegetables you have on hand. I tossed about 1/3 cup of both corn and peas into the mixture but you could really add anything. Fully combine the above ingredients and season with a bit of black pepper and sea salt. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and drop 1/4 cup of the mixture into the hot pan and cook until golden brown, turning once or twice.

The twins gobbled these up, especially when I offered a little katsup for dipping. The big surprise was how much Eric enjoyed the quinoa cakes. I was getting ready to freeze all of the leftovers when he promptly stopped me and grabbed two for himself. Voila, dinner was served :-)

Spaghetti with Beans & Greens

As I've mentioned before, we eat a lot of beans around here, mostly because they are easy to prepare and inexpensive. The fact that they are tasty and nutritious is just a bonus because I'm pretty sure I would still sneak them into meals for the cheap and easy reasons.

Here is a delicious, light spaghetti recipe that is as easy on the wallet as it is your waistline. I always rinse and drain canned beans to remove any excess sodium but you can usually find sodium-free canned beans as well.

Spaghetti with Beans and Greens

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti (I use whole wheat)
3/4 kosher salt, divided
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 (16-ounce) cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounces arugula leaves
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 or 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, tossing gently, set aside and keep warm

Return pan to medium heat and add oil, garlic and pepper; cook 2 minutes until garlic is slightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomatoes and beans and cook 2 minutes. Add pasta and cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add reserved pasta water and arugula, tossing gently to combine.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and cheese. Serve immediately.

Make yummy noises. Enjoy.


(Just 290 calories and 4 grams of heart-healthy fiber in a 1.5 cup serving)

The Dog Days of Summer

Summer is right around the corner which means more time spent outdoors, and more time exposed to the sun's harmful rays. To help protect yourself and your family please visit the Environmental Working Group's web site for a list of top-rated sunscreens with the fewest chemical ingredients.

There is some controversy about chemical sunscreens and whether or not those that contain vitamin-A actually speed the growth of cancer cells. Your best bet for fail-safe sun protection will always be a hat and lightweight clothing, but when you must expose your skin to the sun consider using natural sunscreen products that contain either zinc or titanium minerals.

Surf's up!

The King of Quesadillas

This recipe reminds me of something the King - Elvis Presley - would eat. His love of peanut butter and bananas is legendary so why not grill up a tasty version of this classic combination?

I would like to take full credit for this super easy recipe since both my children (well, all three of them if you count Eric), as well as myself, enjoyed this little concoction. However, it was our very own Jeannie C. who shared this recipe with me.

Banana Quesadilla
Spread all-natural peanut butter (or almond butter) on a 100% whole wheat tortilla.

Sprinkle a little cinnamon and slice bananas on half of the tortilla.

Fold in half and grill until warm and golden brown.

Slice, serve and enjoy.

How easy, easy, easy is that? And, if your kids are into dipping food into something, consider a side of plain yogurt or fresh fruit salsa for dunking and dipping.

This is a fast, nutritious lunch for kids and toddlers but would also be a great pre- or post-workout recovery snack for the kid in all of us.

Thank you Jeannie!

Summer Reading List

For those of you looking for some books to add to your summer reading list, I have a couple of suggestions.

Last week acclaimed author and speaker Geneen Roth was on Oprah talking about her new book, 'Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything.'



And before you get turned off by her mention of God in the title, you should know that she explains "God" as that longing for something bigger, better and deeper than our daily grind. She uses the word "God" to represent the wonder, mystery and miracle in life that you can't quite pinpoint but that you know is all around you.

Roth says that "if you suffer about your relationship with food -- you eat too much or too little, think about what you will eat constantly or try not to think about it at all -- you can be free. Just look down at your plate. The answers are there. Don't run. Look. Because when we welcome what we most want to avoid, we contact the part of ourselves that is fresh and alive. We touch the life we truly want and evoke divinity itself."

Packed with revelations on every page, this book is a knock-your-socks-off ride to a deeply fulfilling relationship with food, your body...and almost everything else.

Get it. Read it. Love it.


This next book, 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle' is one that I am currently enjoying:



If you've read any of Kingsolver's novels you know that she is talented writer with a gift for wit and humor and her first nonfiction narrative is no different. This book chronicles the year that Kingsolver, along with her husband and two daughters, made a commitment to become locavores–-those who eat only locally grown foods.

Those looking for healthful alternatives to processed foods will find inspiration to seek out farmers' markets and to learn to cook and enjoy seasonal foods. However, the book's purpose is serious food for thought: it argues the economic, social and health benefits of putting local foods at the center of a family diet and opens your eyes to the age-old truth that you are what you eat.

Get it. Read it. Love it.