Hey Guys! I hope you had a really wonderful holiday [for those that celebrated]. I wasn’t one of them today. I actually spent Easter all alone studying chemistry, but don’t fear…I was not without good eats! I slept in today by accident…and I mean really slept in – 10:00am! However, it happened to be the perfect time to make myself an Easter a scrumptious Sunday brunch.
Aren’t they purdy?
It’s just a simple pancake recipe, folks. There was nothing tricky about ‘em:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 egg
- 2 T canola oil
- 1 T sugar
- 1 T baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
It’s all about the accessories: 0% Greek, organic strawberries, lemon zest and agave-honey syrup – holy yum!
Immediately after eating my stack of flapjacks, I headed back into the kitchen and whipped up another recipe. It’s a twist on my family’s favorite tabouli recipe, but I used quinoa instead of bulgar.
I didn’t use exact measurements [the plus of cooking vs. baking], but here’s basically what went down:
- Cook 1 cup organic quinoa in 2 cups water – simmer covered for ~15 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork and let cool. Add 2 T olive oil, juice of 1 lemon and a few cloves of minced garlic.
- Pile in 1 can organic, rinsed garbanzo beans, ~1 cup ea. chopped cucumber, tomatoes and fresh parsley. Crumble in ~1/3 cup light feta and sprinkle generously with fresh black pepper.
Quinoa seems to be all the rage in blog world at the moment, so I decided to open up this awesome book of mine and see what I could find out….
Quinoa
“An ancient grainlike product that has recently been “rediscovered in this country, quinoa is not a true grain, but it looks like one and has similar uses. It is related to leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard and spinach.”
“Quinoa’s key nutritional distinguishing factor is its high level of lysine, an amino acid necessary for the synthesis of protein, making it one of the best sources of plant protein.”
Garbanzo Beans [because I eat a lot of these, too]
“One of nature’s perfect foods, these versatile legumes, with a firm yet creamy texture and a delicate nutlike flavor, are highly nourishing. They are rich in protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, folate, iron, and zinc.”
They are “…no slouches when it comes to iron content, with 1/2 cup providing 30% of your daily iron requirement. The body’s absorption of the form on iron found in garbanzo beans can be enhanced by consuming them with a dietary source of vitamin C.”
***
With lunch – a bowl of cold quinoa salad – I had a glass of Tejava. This is such a score at Trader Joe’s - just $1.19 for an entire liter!
Naturally after lunch I “needed” something sweet: enter a P.Nut Buttah Treat.
Don’t Miss the Caboose
After another phone chat with technical support, I am almost to the point of revealing Nutrition Nut on the Run Version 2.0! This will be my LAST post at the current site. Don’t worry, you don’t have to change a thing. You will still find me eatin’ it up @ www.nutritionnutontherun.com.
Here’s to a great week ahead. I’ll fill ya in on what I’m up to when I don’t have to cram for chem!
XO,
Hillary