Quinoa with Berries

OH YA!.....Berries and Quinoa.....

1 Cup Rinsed Quinoa
2 Cups Water
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinammon
1 TBS. Agave
1 TBS. Pumpkin Seed Butter (or olive oil - but only need about 1 tsp.)

Toast quinoa in pan for a couple minutes then add butter, mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes - Cover with lid - turn heat off - and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

After Quinoa is done you can add any of the following:
Sunflower seeds
Raspberries
Strawberries
Blueberries

This is a great meal warm or cold. Well rounded, high in protein, with a little fat and lots of antioxidants.
This is enough for at least 4 meals, depending on the amount of berries you add.
You could also add some coconut milk if you wanted it to be even more cereal like.

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup

• 4 Sweet Potatoes  peeled and chopped - Steamed till soft - About 20 minutes.- Keep liquid for soup - I used 3 "yams" and 1 "sweet potato" - Meaning - 3 orange and 1 white sweet potatoes -

Chop the following - can use food processor for quick processing as it will be blended anyway.

• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Onion
• 1 Leek
• 1 Tomato
• 10 Garlic Cloves

Heat pan to medium while chopping - add just enough oil to coat pan - and then add ingredients - if you processed the vegetables there should be a little liquid - if not add some water - With healthy cooking you do not want to cook your food in oil - use the liquid to "steam" the vegetables - and don't overcook.

When vegies are soft and most liquid absorbed - add 1 tsp following spices: (I like to put my spices in a bowl while waiting and just dump them all in at once - saves time)

• Paprika
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne - This can be adjusted for heat -

Toast in pan about 2 minutes. Toasting spices really brings out there flavor - so you want to put it in an area of the pan with no vegies or liquid - Just move vegies over - toast and then mix with the rest of vegies.

Add the steamed sweet potatoes along with liquid from steaming to the vegetable mixture and lightly mash with a spoon. Allow to heat through - while heating -

• Grind 1/2 cup raw cashews in blender and add to pan.

Fill blender up with 2/3 of sweet potato mixture and add

• 1 cup plain organic So Delicious Coconut Milk.

Blend till smooth and add back to pan - Soup should be mostly smooth with a few veggies that were not blended.

Top with cilantro and tomato. You could also add a vegan sour cream - (never have used any)

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini - Vegan With Quinoa

I used the following recipe to prepare and grill the zucchini - Our Best Bites -

But for the actual stuffing - I made the following:

Chop the following and dry saute - Use appropriate amounts - I made 5 zucchini - sliced - so 10 total - Used about 1/3 of each of the following vegetables -

Red - Yellow - and Orange Pepper (You could use any combination to make 1 pepper)

Sweet Onion

Leek

2 - 3 Cloves Garlic

1/4 Cup Quinoa - (I mix black, red and white) - and toastChop the zucchini you scooped out and add it to the above mixture. Because the zucchini has so much liquid in it - when you cook the Quinoa you have to be careful not to add to much liquid because of the zucchini - (thats what I did) - Normally you would add about 3/4 to 1 cup of liquid - but reduce accordingly. Next time I make this, I am going to soak the quinoa for a few hours first - as the black and red seem to be more difficult to cook.

Add the mixture to the grilled shells above and grill for about ten minutes.