Here’s a recipe for a beautiful and healthy side dish: Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
Well, it’s a New Year. And that means thinking about making small changes to make it a healthier year. I almost always make it a point to make some healthy changes… always on a quest to live a little bit longer and take off a few pounds.
I’ve decided that my family eats FAR to much white rice. White rice isn’t that great for you, so it’s time to get rid of that on our dinner menu and replace it with something much better for us: quinoa. Quinoa is high in protein, and it’s gluten-free too.
I love this tri-color blend of quinoa, and I chose to cook it in chicken broth and add garbanzo beans too.
I added simply roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini, red bell peppers and shallots) to the cooked quinoa and garbanzo beans along with a lemony, red wine vinegar dressing.
This side dish can be served either warm or cold. It’s healthy and delicious- a better choice over white rice indeed!
Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
ROASTED VEGGIES:
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium to large zucchini, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
QUINOA:
- 1 cup Tri-color Quinoa
- 2 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
DRESSING:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Roast the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place veggies in a bowl and toss with the olive oil. Place veggies on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until softened and slightly charred. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Prepare the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve. In a medium saucepan bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rinsed quinoa, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is completely absorbed.
- Assemble the dish: In a small dish, whisk together the dressing ingredients. In a medium to large bowl, toss the roasted vegetables with the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans and dressing. Serve immediately as warm, or cover and refrigerate and serve cold at a later time.
Nutrition:
- 5 Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints per serving (divided into 6 servings)
SOURCE: RecipeGirl.com
ROASTED VEGGIES:
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium to large zucchini, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
QUINOA:
- 1 cup Tri-color Quinoa
- 2 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
DRESSING:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Roast the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place veggies in a bowl and toss with the olive oil. Place veggies on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until softened and slightly charred. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Prepare the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve. In a medium saucepan bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rinsed quinoa, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is completely absorbed.
- Assemble the dish: In a small dish, whisk together the dressing ingredients. In a medium to large bowl, toss the roasted vegetables with the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans and dressing. Serve immediately as warm, or cover and refrigerate and serve cold at a later time.
Nutrition:
- 5 Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints per serving (divided into 6 servings)
Here are a few more quinoa recipes you might enjoy:
- Asian Quinoa Salad by Two Peas and Their Pod
- Mexican Quinoa Salad by RecipeGirl
- 15-Minute Spinach-Pesto Quinoa Bowl by Table for Two
- Peach and Pecan Quinoa Salad by RecipeGirl
- Winter Squash Quinoa by A Thought for Food
My little victory for today was waking up early, had breakfast and some exercise
This recipe looks easy and delicious. My primary goal for this year is to get back to being active on a regular basis, which will help me feel better and get back in shape.
This recipe looks easy and great. It will probably be part of a healthy portable lunch. One of today’s little victories — I cooked dinner at home instead of going out to a restaurant
My victory today is changing the tires of my wife’s car!! Boom!!
looks yummy!
My little victory from today is that I managed to get both my children to bed after a really rough day.
My victory of the day was eating no sugar! I did it!
This looks so tasty. for sure, i am going to try this myself.
So many good things in one bowl. I think I have to.
My victory would be getting through the minus 20 windchill weather to get to work!
We’ve been eating hot cereal for breakfast every weekday this year. Much healthier and cheaper than most options.
Today’s little victory was finally baking a New York Cappuccino Cheesecake without a single crack!! A Bain-Marie was the answer.
My little victory for today was getting my 8 glasses of water and only one 12oz Dr. Pepper vs my 3-4 Dr. Peppers!
Looks delicious and the Kroger giveaway would be great to win since I’m only 5 mins from Fred Meyer!
I like having frozen veggies already cut up and ready to toss into soups and entrees. Makes it faster and easier to get food on the table in the evening. That’s my little victory 🙂
Finally getting to use up the last of my quinoa – awesome recipe!
not finishing off the ice cream!
We have switched to all organic, whole foods.
I started my day out with a healthy breakfast of avocado toast.