Friday Healthy Food

I've been hearing about Quinoa (pronounced as "keenwa"not "kee-no-wah") for the longest time and finally I've tried it today.  They say it's a good source of dietary fiber and is high in magnesium, iron, and calcium, so definitely good for vegans (and in some days, for feeling vegans like me :-)).  And yes, anything with the word or root word "diet" appeals to me - call it dumb, but still I'll go for it.  It is also gluten-free, which I've been seeing so much on food labels lately... Apparently, "gluten-free" is good for you!

So I get it.  

My health-buff friend, Janice, gave me a big ziploc bag of quinoa last 4th of July (another post to come on that).  Today, I only had brunch, so of course at 3 o'clock, I was already hungry.  Looking at our fridge, we still had zucchini, broccoli, and 1 large portobello cap from 2 weeks ago (I've proven that they have longer shelf-life among other veggies).  I cut them up and sautéed in olive oil and garlic.  Sbarro's spaghetti with vegetables from yesterday's lunch gave me an idea.  Good thing I had canned diced tomatoes.  So I threw in the tomatoes into my veggies mix and added good old Italian seasonings - basil and oregano, plus onion powder, pepper, salt, sugar, and one chicken bouillon.  

Still keeping in mind my MLW (must-lose-weight) theme, I started boiling water for my quinoa fettuccine noodles.  Then I remembered, I actually have quinoa!  So I boiled two cups of water and mixed in 1 cup of quinoa seeds.  After my quinoa cooked, I topped it with my Italian veggies and sprinkled some parmesan cheese.  <pat on my back>!

Calories: 290 Calories from Fat: 37

(1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup veggie mix)