Tuesday night I was hungry, but I was strapped for time because Jackie and I were preparing for our smoothie demo the next morning, and the idea of running out to the health food store and thinking up something for dinner was not in my cards…  So, I searched around the kitchen, and I whipped up a mini-masterpiece.

A close up…

As I was scarfing my dinner down, I thought to myself, ‘this is really, really good.  I gotta blog about this.’  So, here we are.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did.

You will need:

Diced avocado

1 cup quinoa

½ cup peas (defrosted or fresh)

½ an avocado, diced

3 tablespoons of hemp seeds

For the flavor:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove of garlic, diced

Rinse your quinoa well, and then cook it.  Quinoa cooks similarly to rice, with a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water.  Place your quinoa and water in a pot with some salt, bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer and cover for about 20 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed.  Let the quinoa sit, covered, for an additional 5-10 minutes after the heat has been turned off.  I have found that this helps prevent it from getting mushy.

While you are waiting for you quinoa to cook and settle, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic.  The longer the garlic sits in the oil, the more flavor the oil will take on, which is always delicious.

After the quinoa is cooked and settled, drizzle your oil, lemon and garlic mixture on top.  Then, stir in the peas, avocado and hemp seeds.

Now you are ready to eat!!  How easy was that?!

This dish kept great in the fridge; I enjoyed it yesterday after we returned from our smoothie demo, which was a big hit btw…  I didn’t even heat it up, and the flavor was still great!  Ahhh quinoa is just such a gem!  I really couldn’t imagine my life before it.

Have you ever tried quinoa?  Don’t be scared… I know its tricky to pronounce (KEEN-wah), but its super easy to make, cooks quickly, and its slightly nutty flavor goes wonderfully with all sorts of veggies.  Did I mention that it is a complete protein?  That’s right!  It contains all 8 of the essential amino acids our bodies need.  And its gluten free!  So try it out, and let me know what you think!

with love and lots and lots of quinoa,

Amanda