I have a confession. Since Easter, I’ve consumed boxes (Yes, you read that right. Boxes.) of Girl Scout cookies and a good portion of the Easter candy in our house. And maybe some left over from Valentine’s Day too.
Why, you ask? Well, part of it is because I gave up cookies and candy for Lent, and I suppose I went a little overboard making up for lost time. The other reason is that I’m pretty stressed out at the moment, and when that happens, I want some sugar. Or a lot of sugar, apparently. Ahem.
I like sweets. I love to bake. One of the reasons I began running was so I could continue to eat dessert (and drink wine) without having to buy bigger clothes. Moderation is definitely key though, so it was time to toss out the candy and make some smart food choices again.
I ate my last Thin Mint on Sunday, and resolved to get back to healthy eating this week. I stocked our kitchen with good-for-me snacks, such as Greek yogurt (I prefer plain with my own fruit added), almonds, berries (picked by me and the girls), carrots (easy to grab-and-go) and other fresh produce. I also filled our dinner menu with simple meals of lean protein, whole grains and veggies.
One of those is a quinoa salad that’s a cinch to prepare, super filling and has quickly become one of my favorite healthy meals. I LOVE Mexican food, so this is the perfect quinoa dish for me.
Mexican Quinoa
Makes about 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 cup frozen corn (or kernels cut from 2 cobs of corn)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 quarter of a lime, juiced
To finish:
Shredded cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), salsa and/or avocado.
DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeños to the pan and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the the quinoa, veggie broth, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, and salt to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve as desired with cheese, salsa, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Source: Annie’s Eats
Do you have a go-to healthy meal or snack? Please share it with me in the comments! More importantly, what is your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (Mine are Caramel deLites, AKA Samoas, AKA the greatest cookie ever.)
I love Samoa’s too. I hibernate when cookie season starts to avoid them 🙂
The best! I’m not sure how I kept the box unopened during Lent.
I’m going to try your recipe this weekend 🙂
And thin mints are my fave. Call me boring, but I like the classics. I have a box in the freezer. Damn my work wife for being a Brownie leader….
You probably like thin mints best because they ARE the best! 😛
I like how you think, Lisa!
Thin mints (frozen, of course) are a close second for me!
So delicious!
YUM!!! I am going to have to try this one. My husband and I always enjoy quinoa whenever I make it, but I always do the same boring thing. Thanks for the new recipe!!!
Hi and thanks. I hope you like it!
I just bought a bag of quinoa without actually having any quinoa recipes haha, so this is very helpful. Thanks! Also planning to integrate into my breakfast sometimes. 🙂
Ooh, breakfast. I would love to hear about that when you try it.
I have to be honest – I just don’t buy GS cookies. That way, I don’t eat them. Because if I DID buy them then I would eat them.
I’ve got to give more quinoa recipes a shot. I’m not good about making it currently.
Let’s find some new recipes! I’d love to find a good one for burgers…
Definitely! We’ll have to start the search. 🙂