Got home from a great run tonight and came across my bag of quinoa in the cupboard!!

Quinoa is generally treated like a grain in the culinary world (though it technically isn't, botanically speaking). It's pronounced "keen-wa" and provides a plethora of health benefits. One specific highlight is its high protein content: quinoa's endosperm can be up to 60% protein (as opposed to most wheat endosperm at around 3%!). 

 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this so called "super food," it resembles what I envision the offspring of rice and Spaghetti O's would look like. The serving size on the bag is 1/4 cup, and to clarify that is 1/4 cup uncooked. Upon cooking, the starch gelatinizes, and in this process the granules swell with water. In doing so, it yields approximately 1 cup of cooked quinoa. 

Quinoa is super satiating and I especially like having it for dinner after a workout. I've experimented with it a bit in the past and made this shrimp and veggie combo a few months ago:

For dinner tonight I had:

1/4 cup quinoa (170 cal)

3 oz Tyson frozen chicken breast strips (100 cal)

1/2 cup marinara pasta sauce (70 cal)

1 slice reduced fat Sargento provolone (50 cal)

1/2 tomato and1/2 onion 

  

I paired it with a side of broccoli and an apple, enjoying a Frango mint for dessert! :) 

Unfortunately, I left a majority of my spices at my parent's house (just recently moved into my new apartment!) so it was lacking in that regard, but overall I liked the combo. Definitely going to keep this one in mind to perfect in the future! :) 

I will leave you with my favorite Bible verse:

Mark 11: 23-26 "Truly, I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your father in heaven may forgive you and your sins."

Happy Friday everyone! 

Amanda Emilee :)