Cooking with quinoa!

Hello!  My name is Staci, and I am lucky enough to write a guest post on Kimberly's amazing blog.  Kimberly and I are currently in graduate school for clinical nutrition together.  Kimberly and I are a lot a like..we love bootcamp, running, of course food, and we have an obsession with anything pinterest related!  Like any normal friendship, I texted her a picture of the dinner I just made (definitely normal) and the next thing I know, she asks me to do a blog post.

I feel like I won an oscar, since I love this blog so much!  As I said earlier,  I love pinterest and have an obsession with pinning anything food related.  I need therapy! Everywhere you look on pinterest, there is a recipe for quinoa.  I love cooking with quinoa. I guess it is new and trendy even though it has been around forever.  Little do people know, quinoa is a good source of protein.  I am definitely a huge fan! I am always looking for ways to make recipes healthier, since I am a future dietitian and all.  I saw a great recipe for quinoa mac and cheese. I knew I had to make this comfort food healthier, and it was beyond amazing. I apologize for my picture not being so great (first time blogger).

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of quinoa
• Veggies (I used spinach)
• Salt
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Nonfat Milk
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• Parmesan
• Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. The first step is to make the quinoa according to the package directions. It usually takes around 15 minutes.  I used rainbow quinoa from whole foods which takes around 20 minutes.  As the quinoa is cooking, you will need to cook the veggies you plan to use in your dish.  I used spinach but next time, I will probably add onions and broccoli.  You can add anything you want or have in your house!

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a bowl.  After the quinoa is cooked, you will fold in the eggs and milk along with the cheese and veggies.  Once everything is folded in together, it can be transferred to a baking dish.  I added whole bread crumbs and more Parmesan to the top of the dish. Bake around 30-35 minutes until the top is browned.  Enjoy!!