[Tuesday June 5th 2012 blog]
Vegan day 157: Quinoa-to-go
Now that I know how to make the perfect quinoa- it’s good to know that this is a wonderful prep-to-go item for the week. Many people including myself, don’t have.. or don’t make time to cook or prepare their food for the week ahead … or even in general. I learned this trick from an unlikely but amazing source- body builder guys! They would take an hour or two on a Sunday and make meals for the week- put them in tupperware and freeze them. They were making simple low fat items like tilapia or chicken with brown rice and a vegetable like broccoli or snap peas. This can be done vegan as well using a bean or alternative “protein” source like tofu, tempeh or seitan. I heard beans stay well frozen for those who don’t like to use cans. I’m not sure about the grains. I personally like to pre-soak my beans but I’m not against using organic canned beans for reasons of convenience. It is however, the only exception I will make for canned products. Choosing frozen over canned is better! Fresh is the best of course and grains like quinoa will stay in the refrigerator for about 5 days from my experience. That’s why quinoa is a great base for a to-go item that you can prep early in the week and take TO-GO!
If you wanted to amp up the protein on this dish you could just add tofu or tempeh right out of the product. No cooking even required. Since I had just made the perfect quinoa for yesterday’s quinoa balls, I was easily ready to prep some QUINOA-TO-GO for work!
Ingredients
*Quinoa (cooked perfectly)
*Nuts of choice- I used pine nuts- walnuts and almonds work just as well
*Seed- I used sunflower seeds- pumpkin seeds are great too
*Cranberries
*Green- chopped; I used kale- spinach works well too!
That’s it! Mix it and go! Package it into those pint or half pint containers that you see in many places for soups and salads. If you know you are eating it the same day feel free to add the extra protein like tofu and some olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Simple!I think it’s important and I have to continually remind myself to practice portion control- these are pint and half pint containers!
*Just note that this is already a high protein grain and there is protein from the nuts and seeds!
Disclaimer: The information given here is for educational purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.
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