Spicy and Tangy Quinoa
A quick make-ahead snack that you eat instead of a bag of chips. This spicy and tangy quinoa is ready in 20 minutes
Hello, I am Rini from Healing Tomato and I have an idea for a very quick and simple healthy snack idea that you can eat without feeling guilty.
Does this sound familiar to you?
I am one of those people who will reach for a bag of chips when:
✅ I need some comfort food
✅ I have a particularly difficult problem that is proving hard to solve
✅ I just need something to munch on while I am working at my desk
✅ I need a snack
I can’t tell you how many times I have felt guilty for going through half a bag of chips within minutes of opening the bag. The chips did provide a momentary pleasure, but, they didn’t resolve any problems.
With the comfort food feeling, the inevitable crash always followed. I quickly felt tired and sleepy soon after consuming those chips.
The first step is always admitting that I have a problem right? So, I finally resolved to do something about it.
Getting to the bottom of the issue wasn’t that hard. My problem is that I need a snack that is ready to go when I need it. This is why the chips were so convenient. Cereal bars and snack bars were never enough to help with the snacking pangs
Now that I knew what my problem was, I just needed to find the right kind of snack.
When I did a fajita meal prep recipe for quinoa, I realized that I really loved them for lunch and dinner. This meant that they would make the perfect snack too.
I mixed pineapple and jalapeno together which just happens to be my favorite pizza topping combo. For the quinoa, I went with white and red quinoa that cooked in less than 10 minutes
To bring it all together, I added taco seasoning which added a little spice to the snack.
Once the quinoa has cooled down, I put them into small half pint mason jars (8 oz) and refrigerate them. They are good for up to a week and they took very little effort on my part.
That’s all! In under 20 minutes, I have a delicious snack that will last me for 5 days. I have dipped pita chips in it and even put it into small tortillas.
Spicy Tangy Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple (drain the juice from it but do not discard)
- ⅔ cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- ⅔ cup red quinoa (uncooked)
- 1.5 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1.5 tsp ginger (finely grated)
- 1 Jalapeno (finely diced)
- ¼ cup alapeno (finely diced)
- 1.5 tsp taco seasoning
- ½ tsp lime juice
- Cilantro (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Bring 5 cups of water to a boil
- Add both quinoa and cook for about 10 minutes or until they are soft
- While the quinoa are cooking, add the oil to a stainless steel pan
- After heating on medium heat for 30 seconds, add the onions and ginger
- Let the onions soften (about 3 minutes) before adding the jalapeno
- Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Add the pineapple, and taco seasoning and mix well.
- Turn the heat to very low and add the pineapple juice
- Drain the water from the quinoa and put them in the pan
- Mix well and let it cool
- When the spicy and tangy quinoa have cooled down, transfer to 8 oz mason jars
- Refrigerate and use it within a week.
The spicy and tangy quinoa taste great just by itself, too.
Try them today and let me know what you think.
Ronda
Do you mean one jalepeno + 1/4 cup of jalepeno pepper? Sorry if I am confused.
Neha
It's 1/4 cup of Jalapeno pepper finely diced.
Alicia Phelps
I love your ideas.. I just like knowing more.????