The super grain Quinoa is still not a common food but there is a reason why this native of South America used to be called the ‘gold of the Incas’. This grain has many health benefits and has the most complete protein compared to any other grain. It also has nine essential amino acids. This grain is in fact a great addition to any vegan’s diet due to its complete protein.

We need the amino acid lysine for tissue growth and tissue repair and Quinoa is an excellent source of this nutrient. Other than that, Quinoa is packed full of many other nutrients which gave it the super grain nickname. Due to its nutrients and high protein content, it is most suitable for vegans, athletes, pregnant women or simply anyone looking to add more healthy food to their diets.

Quinoa contains high amounts of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. Best of all, this grain with a mild nutty flavor, is not an allergenic food except that it does contain oxalate and those on an oxalate-restricted diet will need to avoid eating it. So, just how healthy is it to cook and eat Quinoa? Lets look at some of the health benefits of Quinoa here:

Quinoa, which is rich in magnesium is good for your heart health and also great for preventing migraines. Magnesium can help your blood vessels to relax which is good to prevent heart disease and migraines. Migraines are caused by constriction of blood vessels so if you consume Quinoa frequently, it may just reduce your migraine incidence. Quinoa is a wholegrain and it is a known fact and proven through research that by consuming wholegrain like Quinoa for breakfast, you will lower your risk of heart failure.

Quinoa is also a good source of copper and manganese which are great antioxidants to protect your body from damage caused by free radicals. As a whole grain, it is also a great protection against breast cancer for women. Not only that, due to its high fiber nature, Quinoa is also great for preventing gall stones. Now that you know about the health benefits of Quinoa, lets look at how to choose your Quinoa and how to cook it!

Nowadays, there are plenty of prepackaged Quinoa being sold at stores and natural food stores. It comes in a variety of colors from yellow to red to even black. Whatever the color, the taste and texture of Quinoa is relatively the same, it has a nice nutty and creamy flavor and it has a crunchy texture. To cook it, one needs only cook it like rice. Add two parts of water to one part of Quinoa and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Of course there are also plenty of delicious recipes for cooking Quinoa so you don’t even have to worry about how to eat it! So, it is really time to add this super grain to your diet now.

If you saw Oprah today, you probably saw Dr. Oz making this crazy green drink.  He says it provides you with 5 servings of vegetables all at once!

Oprah was very nervous to taste it, but exclaimed ~ pleasantly surprised:

“It’s a glass of fresh”

So, here’s the Green Drink Recipe

2C spinah
2C cucumber
I head of celery
1/2 inch or 1 tsp of Ginger root
1 bunch parsley
2 apples
Juice from 1 lime
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a blender and serve. It makes around 28-30 oz, and should be 3or 4 servings.

Check this out If you’d like to learn how to make smoothies, or get more smoothie recipes

Chicken with Artichokes and Pasta

What you need:

1 jar of mushroom and onion spaghetti sauce (watch out for high fructose corn syrup)
Boneless skinless chicken breast chopped into chunks you can get away with less than 1 per person
1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced and drained
1 large jar artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
small can sliced black olives
Olive oil
Rotini (I use the high protein pasta)
grated Parm for garnish

Here’s what you do:

• heat up the oil in a large skillet.
• add chicken and cook until no longer pink
• Stir in the pasta sauce, artichokes, olives and peppers
• Heat to boiling stirring every so often
• Reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes or so.  (make sure chicken is done)

While you’re doing that cook up some rotini, however much you think looks good. When it’s done combine it with the chicken mixture and serve it up.

Add a little parm on top to make it even yummier.

Lemon Chicken with Spinach and Tomatoes

We had this last night and it rocked my world. Delicious!

Here’s what you need:

Chicken breasts ~ one per person
1 roma tomato per person
1 lemon
1 C fresh spinach per person
chopped garlic
basil ~ fresh or dry
basmati rice

Here’s what you do:

• Get your rice started following the directions as it takes a while
• Zest the lemon and dice the tomatoes and garlic

• Pour a little oil in a pan.  Throw in the chicken. I covered it so it would steam a little too.
• When the chicken is done put it on a separate plate
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, lemon zest and a little basil to the pan
• Add the juice of the lemon you just zested.
• Use medium heat so the lemon juice will reduce fairly quickly.
• When the lemon juice has reduced add the spinach
• When the spinach has wilted it’s done.

To plate it, just put some rice on the bottom, then a piece of chicken and then cover the chicken with the veggie mixture.

Yum Yum. Let me know what you think!!

Technorati Tags: chicken recipes, healthy chicken recipes, healthy recipes

Last night I made Hawaiian Burgers for dinner. We had sweet potato “fries” and a mango and pineapple fruit salad with it.

It was my first try at Hawaiian Burgers and they were really good and well received by the family. Thought I’d share the recipe with you.  I was talking to a friend on the phone while I was making them and didn’t follow the recipe very well. They still came out really yummy though.

Hawaiian Burgers

This recipe is for 4 burgers.

1lb ground beef (get the lowest fat you can afford)
1/4 c. BBQ sauce (do your best to find one without High Fructose Corn Syrup)
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Canned pineapple slices (reserve the juice)
lettuce leaves
whole wheat hamburger buns
salt and pepper to taste

Ok, this is what you’re going to.

Add the worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and ground beef in a bowl.  Mix it all up.

In a small pan combine the BBQ Sauce, brown sugar and enough pineapple juice (from the slices) to make a nice sauce. Bring to a boil, make sure to stir frequently.  Remove from the heat when it’s boiling.

Put the pineapple slices on a broiler pan, brush or spoon a little sauce on the top of the pineapple slices.  Broil about 4 inches away from the flame for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the slices once and brush with sauce.

I used the George Foreman Grill, but you can also throw the burgers on the broiler pan and broil them on each side for about 4 minutes a side.

Now to serve your burgers, put the burger on the bun, add some sauce top with a lettuce leaf and a pineapple slice.

That’s Yummy!

To make this meal even better for Fit Yummy Mummy I added

Sweet Potato Fries

Preheat oven to 450

Just cut a couple medium size sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch matchsticks.

I throw them in a bowl and add a little olive oil and cinnamon.  Mix it all up.

Throw the “fries” on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake.

The recipe I used said 30 minutes, but after 20 minutes they were pretty blackened on the bottom. So keep an eye on them and make sure you turn them half way through.

I added a fruit salad made from pineapple and mango to this meal ~ I also added some strawberries, just to give it color.

So the motto is Protein and Produce.  This meal adds up quite nicely, and was very delicious.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup diced low fat boiled ham
1/2 cup shredded low fat Swiss cheese
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons white wine
salt/pepper to taste
8 oz. plain low fat yogurt
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup crushed seasoned bread crumbs

Combine ham, Swiss cheese, garlic, wine, salt and pepper in a bowl
to make a filling.

Preheat oven to 350F. Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry with
paper towels. Cut a slit in the side of each breast to form a pocket.
Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of filling. Press to close or secure with
wooden picks.

In a flat dish, combine yogurt and milk. Dip each breast in yogurt
mixture; turn to coat well. Roll in bread crumbs and place in
well?greased baking pan.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done.

Serve with pasta and zucchini.