Curried Quinoa Salad

Wow! It has been a very busy day. We had a great Kids in Motion class this afternoon and had 7 kids show up, including cousin Henry! After class we made a quick stop into the library and I, of course, picked up a few cookbooks and an interesting book by Dr. Ian Smith entitled, The 4 Day Diet. I have not really taken a look yet but sounds like a cleanse to me! I will let you know if there is any merit to the book as soon as I give it a read. Some things that sound too good to be true are just that!

I have kept up with my eating plan today- Yah! Before heading out to teach I had a quick snack:

Vanilla Chobani Greek Yogurt with Blackberries and Raspberries and 6 almonds. This is a great quick energy snack. Very tasty and a great source of protein.



I pulled out my favorite book- the Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN. I love this book... you would laugh because most of the pages are dogmarked with recipes that I want to try or already love. Tonight's dinner is another true love! I made her Curried Quinoa Salad which is absolutely scruptious! Curry cooked Quinoa with crisp carrots, sweet cranberries, green onions and garbanzo beans. Wow! This is beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.

Curried Quinoa Salad

1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 tsp curry powder
3 green onions, diced
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1/2 cup garbanzo beans
Dash of salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
Bring water, curry powder and quinoa to boil.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes (all of the water will be absorbed).
Stir in remaining ingredients.

How simple is that.... I tweaked the recipe just a bit... I used 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans instead of 1 whole cup... and shaved off 100 calories but she also has a variation on her website without garbanzo beans but with walnuts that would be great as well.... actually adding both would be fantastic!

I also whipped up a mock Apple Crisp for dessert compliments of The Flexitarian Diet as well. This little healthy dessert has only 152 calories, 1 gram of fat, 4 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein and it was delicious.

Mock Apple Crisp
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1 apple diced
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 tsp maple syrup
2 tablespoons water
dash of cinnamon

In a dry skillet you toast the oatmeal until golden, about 4 minutes. Set aside. Then I microwaved the apple, cranberries, syrup, water and cinnamon for about 1 1/2minutes or until desired softness. Top with toasted oats and enjoy!

Now did I contemplate putting a little ice cream on this.... YES... but I am determined to stick to my plan and want to go to be slightly hungry tonight. I have got a lot of celebrating coming up this weekend that will include going out to eat and birthday cake so I want to get on track so it is easier for me to enjoy the festivities without being obsessed with what I should or shouldn't eat-- life is too short!

I am pretty happy with my day of eats and am planning out tomorrow's meals as well. You have got to pick up The Flexitarian Diet! The recipes are super simple and all the one's I have tried so far are great. I can't wait to make another batch of Curried Quinoa Salad... delish!

Have a great evening.... off to study for yoga exam! Good Night!