3 Simple Quinoalicious Lunches

Since the summer months are looming and a swimsuit is unfortunately in my future, I've been more diligent about eating healthy.

And we all know that quinoa is a super grain. It's like rice on steroids. See, even Mac wants it! Healthy. Filling. And quick to make.

I whipped up three different lunches with quinoa as the star of the plate. If you make a big batch of quinoa, you can easily make any of these lunches in fifteen minutes or less. All three lunches have between 350-450 calories and less than six ingredients.

First up was the Quinoa Burrito Bowl:

Beans. Fresh Roma tomatoes. Cilantro. Green Salsa. Lime. It's like a happy fiesta in your mouth :)

Next, I made Thai Quinoa Salad with Mangos:

Sugar peas. Thai peanut sauce. Peanuts. Mangos. I love the combination of the sweet mango with the spicy peanut sauce!

Finally, I cooked up Cheesy Quinoa with Spinach.

Fresh white cheddar. Mushrooms. Spinach. Black pepper. A lovely substitute for mac and cheese.

Although they are written for 1 serving, you can easily double/triple the recipe to make it family-friendly :) You can also add extra ingredients to give them a kick or to transform them into a heartier meal (such as adding grilled chicken to the Thai quinoa dish or red peppers to the burrito bowl). I kept them simple to save time and money :)

Here are the recipes:
Printable version


Quinoa Burrito Bowl
Serves 1.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 chopped Roma tomato
1 or 2 tbsp green salsa
Handful of chopped cilantro
1/2 cup black beans
lime

Directions:
Warm quinoa and black beans. Add chopped tomato, green salsa, and cilantro to warm quinoa and beans. Add a few squeezes of fresh lime juice.

Thai Quinoa Salad with Mangos
Serves 1.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 to 1 cup sugar peas or snow peas
1 mango, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp Thai peanut sauce
A small handful of dry roasted peanuts.

Directions:
Warm cooked quinoa. Saute sugar peas and chop mango. Place cooked sugar peas and chopped mango onto quinoa. Drizzle with Thai peanut sauce and sprinkle with peanuts.

Cheesy Quinoa with Mushrooms and Spinach
Serves 1.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 oz white (or regular) sharp cheddar cheese (grated or finely cubed)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup fresh spinach
Drizzle of olive oil
Dash of black pepper
1 tsp milk (optional)

Directions:
Warm quinoa for about thirty seconds. Add finely chopped or shredded cheese. Warm for another 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until cheese is melted into the quinoa. You may need to add a dash of milk. Add olive oil to a pan and saute spinach and mushrooms until cooked through. Add to the quinoa and cheese mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper or other seasonings.

Anyone else love quinoa as much as I do?

{I'm sharing at It's Overflowing, Tatertots and Jello, and Whipperberry}