“You mean kin-oe-ah?” the stock guy asks. ”No, I mean keen-wa, but yeah, same thing” I reply. I’ve only eaten the stuff 3 or 4 times at this point, yet I feel like I have to save this fella the embarrassment in the future and arm him with the correct pronunciation to educate my fellow shoppers in the future. I’m sure I came across as pretentious, but really I’m just a proficient user of YouTube.
But I digress. We are here today to get just a little bit more healthy. If you haven’t heard of quinoa before, it is a powerful little grain of delicious nutrition. One cup of cooked quinoa contains around 15% less carbs and 60% more protein than a cup of cooked brown rice. For families like mine that eat a lot or rice, quinoa has now become the go-to, easy to prepare side dish alternative to rice for weeknight meals. There are several varieties of quinoa. The one pictured above is red quinoa, which I think has a nice nutty flavor (reminds me of boiled peanuts). Just use whatever variety you prefer and/or can find easily in your store. The grilled zucchini adds some much needed moisture to what can sometimes be a dry dish. Some people (like my wife) prefer to add a vinaigrette also to the dish to add more flavor and moisture. I’ll include a recipe for a simple one here as well. The following is a “starter” recipe for a great quinoa with grilled chicken dinner. Use it as a template and start modifying from there with whatever you have in the refrigerator. I like to grill up some mushrooms and throw in there if they are available. Have fun with it, it is all delicious!
Quinoa with Grilled Chicken and Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to directions on the package
- 3 grilled zucchini
- grilled basil chicken (or other grilled chicken)
- 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, mashed and then minced
Instructions
- Prepare the quinoa per the instructions on the package.
- Cut the zucchini into 1/4 inch thick strips and grill according to these directions.
- While the quinoa is cooking, grill up some basil butter chicken or your favorite grilled chicken recipe (though that basil butter chicken will rock your socks off in this dish).
- Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly.
- Once your quinoa, zucchini, vinaigrette and chicken are ready, combine all in a bowl with the feta and enjoy!
healthy options!