I have good news, bad news, and a recipe for you today. The good news is that I gained zero pounds on vacation last week. Of course, if you read posts like this one you might have guessed that I lost weight. However, if you checked out other posts, such as this one, you might have assumed I put on a couple. Muahaha… calorie credits and debits at work!
The bad news is that I already failed on my Real Food June challenge. Ummm… I think I made it one day because I started May 31. I found this to be more comical than discouraging. The guys left one lonely portion of meatloaf last night, so I ate it. Since it was my mommy’s recipe (ultimate comfort food), was made with lean beef, included fresh basil and real Wisconsin white cheddar, I’m pleased with my decision. The only downfall was the overly processed and totally unnatural breadcrumbs. Ooops!
As promised, here’s the recipe for this week’s lunch bowl. I must admit, it isn’t quite as yummy as my last lunch bowl, but it’s very filling and vegalicious. I might like it more if I actually enjoyed eating asparagus. It’s not that I don’t like the stuff, but it’s one of my least favorite veggies.
At least it's pretty!
Kevin’s an asparagus fan, so I made lunch for him too. Hurray for 8 pre-made lunches! He can consume loads more calories than I can (by loads, I mean approximately 1,100 per day), so I told him to bring an extra snack and top his veggie bowls with cheese. I recommended parmesan or asiago, but he requested mozzarella. Whatever. For my readers, I still recommend parmesan if you feel like adding more to your lunch.
Ingredients:
- 6 servings of quinoa
- 1 TBS olive oil and 3 more TBS olive oil
- 1 medium-large onion, diced (white or red)
- ½ red bell pepper, diced (optional)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 oz fresh basil (not so sure dried would work this time)
- 2 cans cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
- 2 12-oz packages of frozen asparagus (cut into bite-size pieces)
- 1 16-oz package of frozen spinach
*Note: 2 10-oz packages of asparagus and 2 10-oz packages of spinach would also be great, but it all depends on your grocery store’s offerings.
Directions:
- Heat 1 TBS olive oil in frying pan. Fry/sauté onion and bell pepper in pan until soft. Add garlic powder, garlic, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until super soft. (Is “super soft” a Martha Stewart approved cooking description?) Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package directions.
So Colorful!
- Allow onion and pepper mix to cool while you tear basil in smaller pieces. While cooling, you can also defrost spinach and asparagus in your microwave according to package directions.
- Place basil in food processor. Place onion and pepper over basil. Add the three extra TBS of oil as you process this into a sauce-like paste. This is similar to a pesto, but it lacks the hard Italian cheese and pine nuts. (Pine nuts don’t fit into my calorie or money budget.)
A Work in Process
- When quinoa is finished cooking, add the “sauce” from the food processor. It won’t cover much, but the onion and basil contribute strong flavor. Gently stir in the beans, asparagus, and spinach.
- Stir, divide, and re-heat before serving. Kevin added cheese daily before microwaving it.
The Great Divide
I’d like to add a note about the red bell pepper. Quinoa and spinach are great sources of iron, but the body absorbs iron better when it is served with a little vitamin C. I doubt half a red bell pepper (a vitamin-C powerhouse) really added enough to matter over the course of 8 lunches, but I do what I can. Next time, I might be inclined to omit the red bell pepper and have a little Clementine orange as a side or dessert. The orange gives you the C, but it would also freshen your breath. Garlic + Onion = Watch Out!
One last thing to watch out for… asparagus is a natural diuretic. This is helping me feel less like a whale after vacation. You may want to drink an extra glass of water every day that you have this for lunch. Necessary? Probably not. Good for you anyway? Sure.
The recipe is easily halved, but as-posted: serves 8, approx 325 calories per serving
is something my dad recommended. Here’s the ingredients list: cracked wheat, cracked rye, and flax seeds. Winner!)
