Redemption, Reviews, and Recipes.

Happy Monday! I hope your week has kicked off fabulously, and that your weekend was glorious and relaxing. Mine definitely was well needed and well appreciated. Now, back to the grind! I am super excited because my boot camp starts tomorrow. If you are still interested of have questions shoot me an email! It is going to be a fantastic calorie burning sweat fest!!

The fabulous people over at Bob's Red Mill sent me some products to review, and I have been quite excited about trying them.  I received organic whole wheat flour, steel cut oats, quinoa, and whey protein. You may remember the steel cut oats and the whey protein from the breakfast fail. Yikes. Still kinda makes me gag again. Not Bob's fault...definitely my own.

 

And so this weekend it was time for a redemption. Steel cut outs round #2, but this time with a recipe, and a little more knowledge on the situation. I got out my bag of steel cut oats and set it on the counter and turned around to grab some other goods out of the pantry when i heard what sounded like an avalanche of sand...SERIOUSLY??? This is what I turned around to find...somebody in this world wants me to HATE steel cut oats.

 Yep, the WHOLE bag poured on the floor. :(
- I HATE wasting food.
- I am also a weird cooking germ-a-phobe
These two qualities don't make for the best combination. I scraped the top oats off the pile. The ones not touching the floor, and salvaged what I could, then threw the rest away. I felt like Rachel. (I LOVE Friends, btw)

Luckily I saved enough to try out my recipe. I put this combo into the crock pot before I went to bed on Saturday night, and set them on low, so they could cook all night.

And when I woke up on Sunday...VOILA! The different recipes I looked at suggested you add butter, dried fruit, chopped apples, brown sugar, etc. I learned my lesson about too much experimenting last time, so I decided just to try the oats this time. They turned out GREAT! Very creamy, and delicious.

The amount I cooked made 4 servings, so I divided the others up for breakfast this week. I'll let you know how they reheat. Don't judge the ghetto tupperware.

I added some peanut butter, chopped up bananas, and cinnamon. It was very tasty. I think this may be a great way to save some time in the morning if needed. I am excited to see how the re-heating of the oats goes, and I will definitely let you know.

I also wanted to try a recipe that I've had for a while using quinoa. I've never made it before, so I had no idea what to expect! I know with some quinoa you buy you have to wash it first, and do some preparation beforehand, but with the Bob's Red Mill kind I received it was ready to use. The easier the better, right? Here is the recipe I followed. I had everything on hand which was great.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

1 tsp olive oil

3 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp onion powder

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup corn (I used canned, but you could use frozen as well)

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained 

salt and pepper to taste

*(The original recipe also called for cilantro, but I didn't have any. I think it would add some color and make the salad look really pretty!)

Directions: Spray a saucepan well with a non stick spray and combine onion powder with olive oil and minced garlic. Heat through. Add Quinoa, chicken broth, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for twenty minutes. After 20 minutes add black beans, corn, salt, and pepper. Cover and let simmer for five more minutes. This salad can be served hot or cold.

The verdict. LOVED the quinoa. I loved the nutty flavor and the texture. The recipe was really really good too. So flavorful. It made a ton, and I'll be eating the leftovers this week for sure. Quinoa is awesome because it is a complete protein. It is gluten free, a great source of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron.

This recipe makes 7 servings (each 1/2 cup) and the stats are...

Awesome protein and fiber content! You really should all try this. It was SO good...almost like a play on spanish beans and rice. I am going to use the Whole wheat flour Bob's Red Mill sent me to make some of my favorite zucchini cookies, and I want to try the whey in one of my shakes. So far we're 2 for 2!



Do you like Quinoa? I can't believe this is the first time I've had it. It's DELISH! Do you believe in the 5-second rule? Or are you a food germ-a-phobe like I am? What food do you love so much that you would eat it off the floor? I think I might salvage a chocolate covered cinnamon bear...man those things are good.