Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked quinoa + 4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chickpeas, canned
1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted if preferred
2 cups asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch segments
1 tablespoon chia seeds per bowl
1/4 cup Better Than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette, to taste
Black pepper and sea salt, to taste
Directions:
Cook 2 cups quinoa in 4 cups of water in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. While this is cooking you can sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic in a lightly oiled pan on medium heat. After a few minutes, add the chopped asparagus to the onion mixture and cook for another 5 minutes or so, or until lightly browned. Fluff cooked quinoa and pour on some Better Than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette– use as much or as little as you want. I probably used about 1/4 cup to lightly toss the quinoa and then I used a bit more of the dressing to pour over top of the bowl when I was ready to eat. Scoop quinoa as the base for the bowl and then start adding your toppings in each section- asparagus, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, chickpeas, and onions. Serve and enjoy the leftovers for days to come!
This recipe made a ton of leftovers too (it serves about 6 people). I’m not complaining…leftovers for lunches! Eric gave it two thumbs up. He said, ‘I love all the crunchy textures.’ There is something for everyone in this dish.
In other news, I can’t stop eating Vegan Overnight Oats. My next batch is coming up on OSG! Clue: Carob powder and pumpkin were in the mix. I love carob powder because it is so sweet and means that you don’t need to add much sweetener at all. By the way- if you have made a batch of my Vegan Overnight Oats and posted about it on your blog, send me the link and I will post the link.
Today’s question- What is your approach to cooking on weekends? Do you use the extra time to cook more or to do food prep for the week to come?
I tend to cook more on the weekends since I have more time and I rarely feel like cooking much during the week after a long day of baking. I love cooking big batches of things and then having leftovers or freezing things like my ‘Neat’ Sauce. On Sundays, I usually spend about 30 minutes chopping veggies that I put in Tupperware so they can be grabbed for quick snacks during the week.
Here’s to a healthy and glowing weekend!