Search Results for: quinoa recipe

June 13, 2020 By Neha Goyal 1 Comment

Healthy Eating: Quinoa Chickpea Salad

How many times have we eaten a light meal consisting of a salad or a fruit only to feel hungry later and end up eating some junk? Ideally, a salad is a meal by itself. It can fit anywhere between your lunch and dinner. If salads have not been giving you the satiety you need, try this power-packed Quinoa Chickpea Salad to fill your tummy with high fiber and protein content but still make you feel light.

What You Will Need

Quinoa – ⅓ Cup (soaked for 30-60 mins)
Chickpeas – ½ cup boiled
Garlic – 1 tsp chopped
Capsicum – ¼ cup chopped
Onion – ¼ cup chopped
Cucumber – 1
Tomato – 1
Green Chilly – 1 tsp chopped
Coriander – 4 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Jeera – ¼ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
A pinch of Hing
Water – ½ cup
Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

How To Prepare

In a pan, add 1 tsp ghee and jeera. As the jeera starts crackling, add hing & sauté garlic for a while.
Now add water. Let the water boil. Add salt, turmeric powder & quinoa (washed & drained). Cover it for 10 minutes and stir 1-2 times in between. Your quinoa generally gets cooked in 10 minutes, turn off the stove and let it cool to room temperature.
In a big bowl, add cooked quinoa, boiled chickpeas and rest of the ingredients. Give everything a good mix
Your healthy and filling Quinoa Chickpea Salad is ready!

Tips For The Quinoa Chickpea Salad Recipe

Don’t forget to scrub the quinoa grain a little before rinsing as it helps in removing the natural coating of saponins which can make it taste bitter or soapy
You can add a little cheese or paneer as well over your salad to make it more tasty and increase the protein content
Try this recipe especially when you have leftover boiled chickpeas

We hope you try this delicious Quinoa Chickpea Salad recipe. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. You can check out more recipes from Healthy Reads or tune in to cooking sessions on GOQii Play.

Stay home, stay safe, eat healthy and #BeTheForce

December 14, 2019 By Urvi Gohil Leave a Comment

Healthy Eating: Vegetable Quinoa Pulao

Quinoa is a gluten-free superfood that has been gaining a lot of popularity in the past few years, and it is actually pronounced as Kveen Vaa. Quinoa, though popular as a grain, is actually a seed. It has a nutty flavour and lacks the sweetness & stickiness of the rice. It is easier to cook than rice and you will love the taste. Although it is not as economical as rice, it is definitely worth a try! So let’s learn how to prepare super healthy and simple Vegetable Quinoa Pulao!

What You Will Need:

Quinoa (wash and soak for 30 min) – 1 cup
Onion (chopped) – ¼ cup
Cauliflower (chopped) – ¼ cup
French Beans (chopped) – ¼ cup
Carrots (chopped) – ¼ cup
Corn Kernels – ¼ cup
Green Peas – ¼ cup
Spinach – 2 tbsp
Coriander – 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tbsp
Bay Leaf – 1
Cinnamon Stick – ½
Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
Turmeric, red chili powder, coriander seeds powder, garam masala as per taste
Salt as per taste
Oil – 1 tbsp

How to Prepare:

In a pan, heat oil and fry the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Then, allow the cumin seeds to sizzle.
Add the chopped onion along with ginger garlic paste and roast it well until slightly brown.
Now, add all the other vegetables along with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander seeds powder, garam masala and salt. Sauté them well for 4-5 min.
It is time to add the soaked quinoa (discard the water), give it a quick stir and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Now add 1.5 to 2 cups of water.
After a boil, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5-10 min until done. Mix the contents using a fork and not spatula to give it a Pulao consistency.
Serve it hot with curd or raita.

Highlights of the Vegetable Quinoa Pulao

This absolutely easy recipe gives you everything required for a balanced meal.
It is high in protein and contains sufficient amount of all essential amino acids.
100% satiety with the fibre content it has in limited portion size.
Fun Fact – a cup of Quinoa will provide twice the protein and about 5 gm of more fibre than the same amount of white rice.

Hope you try this awesome Vegetable Quinoa Pulao recipe and share your experience in the comments below! For more healthy recipes, tune in to LIVE cooking classes on GOQii Play.

#BeTheForce

December 14, 2018 By Trupti Vyas (Pandya) 4 Comments

Winter Recipes

Winter has set in and it is that time of the year when our body experiences tremendous changes in energy levels, metabolism and our food preference also changes. Winter is also the season which is full of colorful veggies and fruits in market. Our body needs extra vitamins and minerals to help combat cold weather, illness and to maintain your good health.

Let me share with you some nutritious food ideas that will help boost immunity and maintain energy levels through the day.

Here are 5 healthy dishes which will help you to keep warm on cold days-

Millet Vegetable pan bread (Bajra Dudhi Thepla)-

Ingredients–

(Bajra) Millet flour – 1 cup
Wheat flour – 1 cup
Bottle gourd (Dudhi)- 1 cup (grated)
Curd – 1/3 cup
Oil – ½ cup (to add in flour and roast theplas)
Green coriander – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Green chilly – 1-2 (finely chopped)
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Red chilly powder – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp (optional)
Salt – ½ tsp (as per taste)

Preparation

Take out flour in any big utensil. Mix wheat flour in the same bowl. Also add bottle gourd, ginger, green chilly, green coriander, Asafoetida, cumin seeds, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, sesame seeds, salt, 1 tbsp oil and curd. Add 1-2 tbsp water or as per requirement and knead soft dough. Keep aside the dough for 10-15 minutes so that it gets set.

Grease your hand with some oil and knead the dough. Pre-heat the pan (tawa). Take little amount of dough (lemon size) and make a round ball. Take one ball, dust it with dry flour and place it on rolling plate and roll into 6-7 inch diameter bread (thepla).

Place the rolled bread (thepla) on pre-heated pan (tawa) and when color of the bread (thepla) turns darker from surface then flip the side. Spread 1 tsp oil on the upper surface. Flip the side and spread some oil on this side as well. Roast the bread (thepla) on medium flame until it gets brown spots on both sides. Take it of the pan and place it in a plate.

Serve the Millet Vegetable pan bread (BajraLaukiTheplas) with curd (yogurt), Corainder paste or pickle or with any vegetables of your choice.

Suggestion: Mix finely chopped spinach in the flour for making Millet Spinach Breads (Bajra spinach thepla) and add finely chopped fresh fenugreek leaves for making millet fenugreek breads (bajramethitheplas).

Winter special Fenugreek seeds and edible gum sweet balls

Fenugreek seeds gum balls is a traditional recipe which can also be used as an Ayurveda treatment for various ailments, especially during winters. These sweet gum balls are not only known for their medicinal properties but also taste delicious.

These are prepared with Fenugreek seeds mixed with wheat flour and Jaggery. New mothers can have these sweet balls as dietary supplement or to overcome any post-delivery problems. People suffering from joints pain, especially in winters, can have this sweet.

Ingredients-

Fenugreek(methi) seeds- 100gms.
Milk- ½ litre(2-1/2 cup)
Wheat flour-300gm(1-1/2cup)
Ghee- 250gm(1-1/2 cup)
Edible gum (Gond)-100gms- (1/2 cup)
Almonds-30-35.
Black Pepper- 8-10.
Cumin powder-2tsp.
Dry ginger- 2tsp
Green Cardamom- 10-12
Cinnamon-4 pieces.
Nutmeg-2
Jageery-1-1/2cup

Preparation:

Clean Fenugreek (Methi) seeds properly(wash seeds then put them in a thick cotton cloth and leave it in the sun to dry, cloth can be washed and used again). Put clean seeds in a mixer and make a thick paste somewhat similar to flour. Boil milk.

Put the grounded Fenugreek (Methi) in milk and let it soak for 8-10 hours.

Cut almonds into small pieces. Gently crush black pepper(break 1 pepper into 4-5 pieces), crush cinnamon and nutmeg into fine powder. Peel Cardamom (Elaichi) and crush it as well.Pour 1/2 cup clarified butter (Ghee) ina pan, fry soaked (Fenugreek) on a medium flame till it turns light brown and smells good. Remove the mixture in a plate.

Put the remainingclarified butter(Ghee) in the pan and heat, fry Edible gum(Gond) and take it out on a plate(fry Gond on a law flame). Fry flour in leftover Ghee in the pan till it becomes light brown then take it out.

Put 1 tspclarified butter in the pan followed by the pieces ofJaggery(Gur), melt Jageery (Gur) into liquid form (Chashni) on a low flame. Add Cumin (Jeera) powder, Dry Ginger(Sauntth) powder, cut almonds, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, Cardamom in the Liquid syrup of Jageeryand mix well.

Take little amounts of the mixture, shape it into small balls similar to a lemon and put it on a plate. Keep Fenugreek seeds and edible gum sweet balls (MethiLadoos) in open air for 4-5 hours.

The sweet is ready, keep them in an air tight container and eat one sweet ball every morning or evening with warm milk. This prevents pain in joints, back and pain due to the cold.

CARROT CAKE SNACKS BITE-

Ingredients-

21/4 cups shreddedcarrots
3/4cups date (about 10 large dates)
2/3cups coconut (shredded or flaked)
1/2cups walnuts
1/2cups sunflowerseeds
1 teaspooncinnamon
1/4teaspoons groundginger
1/8cups toasted sesame seeds
1/8cups shreddedcoconut.
1/8cups chopped almonds

Preparation

In a food processor, blend all the snack bite ingredients together.Scoop out full grinded mixture in a bowl and roll it into a ball.

Roll the balls in sesame seeds, coconut, or chopped almonds for additional crunch. Use the listed optional ingredients to determine the amount of sesame seeds, coconut, or almonds you need.

Store refrigerated or in an air tight container.

Spinach with Chickpeas Green salad-

Ingredient–

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, diced
300g frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
400gtin chickpeas and green peas, drained and boiled.
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation: Take 400gm of chickpeas and green peas in a pressure cooker. Add half a litre water to it and cook till 4 whistle blow. Let it cool for some time. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add and Cook the garlic and onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add and Stir in the spinach, chickpeas, green peas, cumin and salt. Use your stirring spoon to lightly mash the beans as the mixture cooks. Allow to cook until it getsthoroughly heated. Serve it hot.

Green Greek Smoothies-

Ingredients-

Cup freshly cut pieces of kiwi.
A bowl of Greek yogurt.
½ cup of milk.
Pinch of grounded cardamom.
1 tsp of (water) soaked chia seeds
Fresh Mint Leaves

In a blender,place kiwi, yogurt and milk and blend it for about 1 minute or until smooth.Pour into the glass, and sprinkle with cardamom. Garnish with mint leaves and add 1 tsp of soaked chia seed on it. Serve immediately.

Tip- You can also try other winter fruits and veggies– like oranges, apple, spinach, Beets instead of Kiwi.

Try these healthy and delicious winter warming recipes. And, don’t let the cold weather keep you from enjoying fresh homemade foods. Let’s Enjoy!

August 1, 2021 By GOQii 38 Comments

Health Benefits Of Eating A Bowl Of Salad Daily

Traditionally, salads are prepared with raw vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage and onions – which are cut into slices and sprinkled with a pinch of salt and lemon. They were either served as the smallest portion of the meal or totally ignored. If you have also been doing the same, it’s time to change! Adding a bowl of salad to your meals is important and that’s what we’re going to tell you in this article.

Why Should You Eat A Bowl Of Salad Daily?

Firstly, starting your meals with a bowl of salad will help you lose weight. It’s true because salads are low in calories, high in fiber and rich in other nutrients. Fiber helps you feel full and you go easy on the rest of your meal. Eating less but healthy = sustainable weight loss! Eating a high fiber salad aids in lowering cholesterol and also is known to prevent constipation.
Eating a little good fat (like the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, avocado and nuts) with your vegetables in salads helps your body absorb protective phytochemicals (known to protect against cancer and heart disease), like lycopene from tomatoes and lutein from dark green vegetables.
Best way to skip croutons (deep fried pieces of wheat bread) which are few in nutrients and have a high glycemic load, is to replace them with nuts and seeds and maintain the crunchiness in the salad.
To balance it with proper carbohydrates and proteins to make it a whole meal, you can add brown rice or protein packed Quinoa, grilled chicken, low fat Paneer, Tofu or Sprouts.
People, who do not like to eat fruits, can relish salads which combine fruits and vegetables and eat it as a whole meal or an in between snack. This provides a host of powerful antioxidants which protect the body from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.

Tips To Prepare Healthy Salads

Salads are known to be rich in Vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K cannot be absorbed and used by the body without the presence of some fat. So go for the unsaturated kind (good fats) like olive oil or canola oil. Toss the oil with vinegar which helps to prevent blood sugar spikes after meals.
The best way to include greens like romaine, radicchio, iceberg and spinach in our daily diet is to mix them all up or use one at a time in salads.
Add medicinal herbs like basil, garlic, lemon juice or parsley to the salad for that strong punch of flavor and loads of disease fighting antioxidants. The more flavorful your salad is naturally, the fewer high calorie ingredients you will need to add for taste like extra cheese and cream.
Pack your salads with as many other veggies or fruits as possible to get the synergetic effects. Carrots, cucumbers, different colored peppers, broccoli, peas, artichokes, strawberries, raspberries, or pears are great choices to get in different textures as well as plenty of filling fiber.

We hope this article helps you pick up the habit of adding a bowl of salad to your meals! Do get creative with your salad, make it colorful or crunchy and share a pic on social media or the GOQii Arena and tag us! For more on healthy living and nutrition, check out Healthy Reads.

To get more advice on nutrition, weight loss, diet tips and healthy recipes, subscribe to personalized coaching and ask your GOQii Coach directly: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Eat Healthy and #BeTheForce