Ingredients
- 1/2 C. dry quinoa
- 2 C. vegetable broth
- 1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 2 avocados diced
- 2 C. spinach
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1/4 C. onion
- 2 small cloves garlic
- For the dressing:
- Juice of 2 lemons
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. agave nectar
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
Directions
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Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.
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In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.
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Healthy Living Class, Green Drinks, Sweet Eats, and Salads!
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November 9, 2011 115 Comments
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Last night I taught a healthy living class.
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And like always, as the guest were arriving, I was behind on everything…
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I had friends making Peanut Butter Pong Balls(made with almond butter instead), made my dad run to McDonalds to get some ‘samples’ (of no-no’s), and I was busy making sure things were set and ready to go…Oh and repeating in my mind the things I was going to say.
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I decided to do a display table of ingredients I love that I think everybody should include in their daily eating lifestyle. Each had a little note card with info about the ingredient.
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That, and I figured I would most likely forget to talk about them…so they were there for people to look at.
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My mom asked why some of the notecards read, “Super Sexy” and “Totally Awesome” in which I basically replied, “That’s how I talk Maaaaoooommm DUH.”
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When it came time, everybody crowded around me waiting to hear what I had to say. Pretty much through my whole presentation I was scatterbrained.
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(This is a GREAT picture of me!)
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“So these are Chia Seeds, they are full of Omega-3′s! Oh wait! Let’s talk about lunches!”
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What the?
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I’m also pretty sure in the beginning my voice shook like thunder due to nerves, and I sounded like I wanted to cry. I also said the phrase, “I could pound it when it came to eating…”
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My grandma that was there had NO idea what I was talking about…
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All together though, I had such an amazing time. It meant the world to me to have the people that I loved, look up to, and even leaders who taught me, be there and support me and my passion.
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I tried my best to get my message across, and I am praying tonight that people understood more than, “Uh dummm…I like Spinach. It’s tasty…I like to drink it too.”
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Besides that, I wanted everyone to know that this world that God has created for us brings forth so many amazing whole, fresh, and natural foods. We need to stop feeding our bodies packaged, processed, mass produced, and an excess of animal products. We need to start giving our body the wholesome food that it deserves and needs to survive, which are things like grains, fruits, veggies, nuts, legumes.
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I also figured if anything, I could win over there hearts with samples.
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My first sample was a green smoothie, which if you know me is an obvious choice for a sample.
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I really wanted to get across that adding a green smoothie into your every day lifestyle will do wonders in it self. Your giving your body things that you would most likely not eat on its own, especially in its raw state (not cooked, doused with dressing, etc.).
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They are great for babies, toddlers, kids, AND adults. Not to mention, they are SO versatile. If you follow me on facebook, you might have heard that a smoothie made with milk, spinach, kale, chard, cocoa powder, cherries, and bananas is like dessert! (Something that NO one would complain about )
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But I have to say I am kind of mean. I didn’t just do an original green drink. I made it hard core and beefed it up with tons of greens…
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I really wanted them to like me.
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Everything Green Smoothie
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*This smoothie makes quite a bit and could easily serve two adults. Unless your like me and can eat for two, then you could drink it all on it’s own. It could also serve 2-3 kids, one mama and 2 children…etc..
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Ingredients:
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1 C. non dairy milk(I used almond milk-coconut milk would be good too!)
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handful of spinach (about 1 c.)
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handful of kale (just the leaves-no stems)
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handful of swiss chard
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1 green apple
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1/2 medium cucumber (diced)
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1 frozen banana
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1 TB. chia seeds
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1-2 tsp. sweetener of choice(agave or maple syrup works best) You could even throw in a few dates
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Ice (about 1 1/2 C.)
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Directions: Blend until creamy and delicious
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I could tell people were a little worried when it came to try it.
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That’s ok, I made sure I shoved one down everyones throat whether they liked it or not.
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Next came a little something sweet:
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Peanut Butter Protein and Energy Balls. (I made them with almond butter instead though.)
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Everyone really enjoyed these. They were something sweet that you could pop in your mouth if you wanted to satisfy your sweet tooth. OR, if you need a boost during the day, wanted a snack after a workout, or even something for your kiddos after school. Naturally sweetened, full of healthy fats, proteins, and made with….Love…
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Awe.
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Up next we had a Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad.
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Yet again, I was mean and didn’t make their sample with quinoa. I actually was thinking later that night that throwing in some grain would definitely add more “Va Va Voom” to this meal, so the next day I made it again.
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You get your protein from the beans and quinoa, some good grains from the quinoa, healthy fats from the avocados, veggies from the spinach and tomatoes, and delicious-ness from the tasty dressing.
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Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad
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Adapted from: Ohsheglows
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Ingredients:
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1/2 C. dry quinoa
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2 C. vegetable broth
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1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
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1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half
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2 avocados diced
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2 C. spinach
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1 bunch cilantro
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1/4 C. onion
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2 small cloves garlic
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For the dressing:
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Juice of 2 lemons
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zest of 1 lemon
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2 tsp. dijon mustard
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2 tsp. olive oil
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1 tsp. agave nectar
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1/2 tsp. cumin
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dash of salt and pepper
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Directions:
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Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.
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Your quinoa will look similar to this when it’s all done:
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In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.
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I found an unpleasant surprise in my cilantro.
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Yuck. Dirt is so disgusting.
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Process the greens until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don’t have a food processor.
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Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor to), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.
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Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.