Yes, There Were a Few Skeptics!

Skeptics? Yes.  But everyone walked away a fan of at least one Quinoa recipe.

Quinoa? Never heard of it!

Quinoa is a versatile grain (well technically it is a seed) that can be eaten hot or cold, served as a side dish or part of the main course. The crew at 6PM wasn’t sure what they had asked for when they wanted to know if quinoa was good. We had a taste testing after training to let them decide.

Quinoa Chili

• 2 cup uncooked Quinoa, rinsed
• 4 cups of water
• 2 Tablespoon of peanut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 Tablespoon of chili powder
• 2 Tablespoon of cumin
• 3 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
• 3 (15.5 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 3 zucchini, chopped
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 4 links of precooked chicken sausage- your favorite flavor

Rinsing the quinoa is key to this dish. If you do not take the time to rinse this grain until the water runs clear, it will taste extremely bitter. Once rinsed, bring the quinoa and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to  medium, simmer until tender about 20 minutes. Set aside.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until it is translucent. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Stir in the tomatoes, black beans, peppers, zucchini, oregano, and chicken sausage. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, stir in the quinoa and corn. Cook to reheat. Garnish with cilantro.

“Thank you Coach Sarah for pointing me to this delicious recipe. Everyone loved it!”

Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Quinoa

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups nonfat milk
• 3 Tablespoons of honey
• ½ lemon, zested
• 1 cup blueberries

Rinse the quinoa in a sieve until the water runs clear. Make sure you do not skip this step. You will not be able to eat this if you do not rinse this grain.

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Stir quinoa into the milk. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until much of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the honey and lemon zest. Gently fold in the blueberries. Top with flax seed for added nutrients.

“This is a great dish for right after training.”

Quinoa, Apple, Walnut Salad

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound of turkey kielbasa
• 2 apples, sliced
• ½ cup walnuts
• 6 cups of fresh spinach

Don’t forget to rinse the quinoa. You’ll be an unhappy camper if you spend time fixing a meal that you can’t eat. Quinoa has a coating that is easily rinsed off right before cooking that taste bitter. Rinse until the water runs clear before going to the stovetop.

Bring water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 12 minutes. Set aside. Cook kielbasa on a grill over medium heat. Set aside to cool. Then slice into ½ moon shapes. Combine all the ingredients in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with your favorite dressing.

“If you have leftover quinoa from another meal, use that in this salad and save yourself the cooking time.”

Everyone at 6pm Epsom now knows what quinoa is, and that they like it! You will never know until you try it.