Quinoa and Black Beans

One thing that keeps me eating healthy is planning my meals, this includes lunch. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I like to make a big pot of soup, stew or veggie chili and heat this up for lunch on weekdays. This makes for a very quick and easy lunch which gives me lots of time to walk the dog etc.

I came across this recipe for Quinoa and Black Beans on allrecipes.com and discovered it works perfectly to heat up for lunch as well. The cumin and cayenne spice give it a nice Cajun flavor. I like to top it off with a drizzle of Sriracha chili sauce to amp up the heat. (I have a secret love for Sriracha, I put in on everything!)

The recipe calls for two cans of beans but I think one is enough. I also added green peppers with the onions to incorporate more veggies. I chose not to use cilantro as I am not a huge fan but it would be a great touch of freshness if you do like it.

This would make a great side dish in lieu of rice or potato. Quinoa is a super food loaded with lots of protein, fiber and minerals. This meal keeps my belly feeling full all afternoon.

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed
and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Mix quinoa into onion mixture and cover with vegetable broth; season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until quinoa is tender and broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes; mix in the black beans and cilantro.
(source, allrecipes) 

Enjoy!

xoAngela