Quinoa Pasta, Cannellini Beans & Sauteed Greens

Sometimes a girl just craves pasta!  One of my favorite concoctions is made up of three basic ingredients; pasta, spinach, and canellini beans.  It's so simple - and so yummy!  Even those who frown at the thought of eating "healthy" will love this dish! 

I've been exploring with Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) a lot lately as I keep reading about all of its amazing health benefits.  While shopping, I was beyond excited to find a great quinoa pasta to test out as part of this dish.  As I mentioned, Quinoa is loaded with nutrients - my favorite of which is that it is rich in protein content. In fact, it is a complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids, especially lysine, which is required by the body to grow and repair tissues.  It has a high content of manganese in it, which acts as antioxidant in the body.  And, while the list goes on and on, I'll conclude by noting that it is also a wonderful source of fiber for the body! 

New to quinoa? Read up on it and you'll be just as eager as me to explore new quinoa rich dishes! 
 
Quinoa Pasta, Cannellini Beans & Sauteed Greens 

Ingredients Needed - Serves 2+ Lots of Leftovers for Lunches! You can easily cut this recipe in half....I just like lots of it in my fridge :)

1.  1 Box of Quinoa Pasta as shown below in the pic - Highly recommend trying Ancient Harvest Supergrain.  It's available at most major grocery stores in the Gluten Free section. 
2.  2 15 Ounce Cans of Organic Cannellini Beans (no salt added) - my favorite name for canned beans is Eden Foods
3.  2 10 Ounce Frozen Organic Cut Spinach - Cascadian Farm is one of my favorites... you can of course use fresh as well! 
4.  Soy Oil

5.  Garlic Cloves, Ground Pepper, & Sea Salt

3 Basic Steps

1.  Cook pasta according to directions on package.
2.  Heat soy oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ground pepper; stir until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. Add spinach and stir until thawed.  Top with more ground pepper and a dash of sea salt. 
3.  Take cannellini beans, add to a sauce pan, and cook on medium heat. Mash to your liking -  add lots of ground pepper with a touch of sea salt.

Simple, right?

As the package reads, "You'll never go back to plain noodles again!" -
The texture & taste was perfecto! :)

All Cooked - You know it's good pasta when you like it plain!

Qunioa Pasta topped with Spinach, Topped with Cannellini Beans -
Add a Side of Steamed Carrots!  So Good!

Up Close & Personal - Super Delish and Hits the Spot Every Time!

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

First Lunch on the Go: Total Success!

My first opportunity to show off my skills in successfully packing the cooler came at lunch time.  In a matter of minutes, I whipped up a delicious, perfectly paired, lunch for two.  Not as fast as Jimmy Johns but it was definitely WAY tastier and healthier! 

Here's what I did:

• 2 Chicken Breasts (clean & loved) - seasoned with ground pepper, sea salt (just a dash), a poultry blend and onion flakes.  I pulled out some aluminum foil, added just a touch of olive oil to the bottom and maybe an 1/4 cup of water, put the chicken on top and made a pouch with the foil. Once ready, I walked it out the grill - which the Mr. had already graciously fired up.  This took about four minutes to complete...

I then grabbed from my handy cooler the following:

• Leftover Brown Rice, Quinoa, Chia Seed Mix - plus black beans and sweet corn thrown in
• 2 Handfuls of Green Beans 
• 3 Handfuls of Fresh Spinach

I took more foil, lightly coated the bottom with olive oil, and put the leftover grain concoction on top.  On top of those I put the handfuls of green beans, and on top of those the handfuls of spinach.  I made the same pouch with the foil and walked it out to the grill. 

Let everything cook for 15 minutes or so...and tah dah!

Open your mind to simple options...and you'll be amazed with how creative simplicity can truly be!

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

Brown Rice, Quinoa & Chia Seed Mix

I love the combination of cooking together brown rice and quinoa. To me, it makes the perfect textured mix!  It's so simple too - especially, if you have a rice cooker.  Recently, I have also been adding Chia Seeds to the mixture...so good and all so good for you! 

Using the "cup" that came with the rice cooker - here's the basics of how I pull everything together:

1 Cup of Brown Rice
1 Cup of Quinoa

Mix together and wash grains well before use by placing them in a fine mesh sieve and rinsing under running water until the water runs clear.   For further guidance and reasoning for washing your grains, please check out this helpful article.

Once rinsed, add your final ingredients:

1/4 Cup of Chia Seeds
1 Teaspoon of Olive Oil
Add Water Accordingly

Then load it up with spices!   Fresh garlic, ground pepper, dash of sea salt, parsley, and onion flakes...whatever your heart desires! 

Give it a good mix.  Turn the switch to "Cook" and you're good to go! Typically takes around 20 to 30 minutes...I check on it periodically to see if any additional water is needed.

This combination is the perfect foundation for any meal - best of all it makes for great leftovers (lots of flexibility to change it up if you wish!)

 Handy kitchen appliance -  "Rice Cooker" is used weekly in my household.
I bought this one years ago at Walgreens (of all places) for less than $10. 
Mine also came with the steamer top - making it easy to throw in some veggies while the rice (or combination of) is cooking.

I keep all of my favorite spices easily accessible (front & center) in the kitchen. 
Simply Organic is one of my favorite brands. 

I typically buy my rice in bulk - like with everything I always aim for quality. This one in particular is a gourmet blend of CalMati Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Sweet Brown Rice, Heirloom Red Rice.  I believe I picked this up at Costco.

Quinoa is amazing for you! I purchased this from the local health food store. 

Chia Seeds are my new favorite thing! Again, picked these up from the health food store. A little goes a long way with these powerful bad boys!

Once the rice is cooked, I will often add a splash of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  It's a soy sauce alternative - taste the same yet is made from soybeans and purified water. 

Eating clean isn't meant to be difficult, in fact it's quite the opposite.  Once you get the staples down...everything else just falls into place! 

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,

Mrs. Skinny Fat