Quinoa Bowls

I'm a HUGE fan of entrees that have a lot of variety in textures, tastes, and colors. The quinoa bowl is one of those dishes that covers all of those bases for me. I got the idea to create this recipe on my own after spending a lunch date with one of my friends at a new healthy food joint in Boston that we both haven't been to before- Freshii.

If you're a local and you're curious as to where that is, it's right in the Financial District on High St. It's very cute, casual and modern. They have these menus which allow you to create your own bowls without thinking you don't want to be that guy listing out a buttload of ingredients you'd like to add to your order. Instead you just fill out the mini sheet and hand it over to the cashier. I ordered the quinoa bowl with added grilled salmon, sweet corn, beets, shredded carrot, broccoli, edamame and cucumber dill sauce with a bottle of raw coconut water just to try it out. I didn't really do a good job with choosing the right sauce for the ingredients (sort of tasted bland), but overall I liked the concept of Freshii and Boston needs more healthy quick eats like this.

And that is where my inspiration to recreate my own recipe had sprouted. I remember having a similar healthy dish from Life Alive (vegan restaurant in Cambridge) and the ingredients that they had used. One ingredient that particularly stuck out in my mind were the toasted marcona almonds. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of those so you can always improvise! In this case, I used slivered almonds I had at home and toasted them to the perfection. I think the toasty bite really made this dish.

First, you would have to prepare the quinoa. I cooked one cup of quinoa, and it's enough for 3-4 servings for myself. To the quinoa, I add salt and garlic powder for taste. In the meantime while that pot of quinoa is cooking, I would go ahead and toast the almonds and cook up the corn and the broccoli/cabbage medley. The corn I used were the frozen kernels, but if you have fresh corn on the cob on hand- the fresher the better! For the broccoli/shredded cabbage medley, I cooked it with a teaspoon and a half of sesame oil for taste. Carrots are the last to prepare and simply need to be shredded. Grilled chicken is one ingredient I always prepare an abundance of so I can include them in different recipes. It's a versatile lean protein that you can incorporate into any and every meal. I also like to add a huge spoonful of feta (I looooove cheeeese!) After all the preppings of the ingredients separately, spoon whatever amount of each ingredient on top of a bed of quinoa and the mix together so you can get a spoonful of everything with each bite.

Quinoa Bowl Recipe/Instructions: 

Step 1: Cook the quinoa (instructions are typically on the package) and set aside. 

Step 2: Toast the almonds. I would only toast for 4 minutes or keep an eye on it. 

Step 3: Take a head of broccoli and break it down to bite size pieces. Chop up and shred a half a small head of cabbage. Head up the pan to a medium heat and drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil. Toss in the veggies together. While they are cooking for about 2 minutes or so, spoon in a teaspoon and a half of sesame oil for taste. I would either wait another 8 minutes for it to cook thoroughly or keep an eye on it for the color change and then set aside. 

Step 4: Defrost and cook the sweet corn. Set aside. 

Step 5: Shred the carrots. 

Step 6: Put about 1 cup of quinoa into a bowl or however much you would like. And spoon in all the ingredients that you've prepped to your desire. I top it off by putting in feta cheese but you can certainly put whatever cheese you'd like on top. Mix it up, and chow down. And that's it!

This is again another recipe that you can really make your own, and that's the best part. You can definitely work your magic with your culinary skills and see what you can come up with! For my next quinoa bowl, I'm going to incorporate some dried cranberries and kale. If you guys come up with anything great from playing with this recipe, let me know! I'd love to hear.