Lunch with great friends and good food

Teya and I had lunch with CB and Sara on Friday at Whole Foods.  We went to the one on Scottsdale Road just South of the 101.  They have a mini cafeteria inside and wow is the food good.  I was excited to see all of the vegetarian and vegan dishes they had.  CB and I I tried a couple of tofu dishes that were great, Sara enjoyed the pizza and sushi and Teya also enjoyed a slice of pizza. We then had a scoop of Sorbet.  It was great to catch up with girls and have a yummy healthy lunch.

With my lunch I had a Quinoa and Black Bean salad.  It was so good I had to try to make it.  I made it for dinner tonight and it was awesome, so I thought I would share the recipe.

For those of you who are not familiar with Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa” ), it is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain that is packed with fiber and protein. One cup of cooked quinoa provides 9 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein.  Quinoa can be used in place of rice or any other whole grain.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (I used 4 as I love garlic)
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I started with 1 1/2 and added another 1/4 cup after about 10 minutes as mine was soaking it up and I like a softer grain)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

I added:
1/2 cup zucchini chopped
1/2 cup red pepper chopped
1/2 to 3/4 can of diced tomatos with green chilis - 10oz can

Directions

1.Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned. (If using my additional items add zucchini and red pepper)

2. (Again if using my extras - add tomatos & chilis with liquid).  Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

3.Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

I had mine serving over a bed of spinach.  It was delish!

Hope you like it!