Easy Quinoa Carrot Side Dish Recipe
Quinoa is one of the seven seeds I feature in my book The Need for Seeds: How to Make Seeds an Everyday Food in your Healthy Diet. Quinoa is gluten-free and is available as red, black and white, and yellow seeds that need to be cooked (unlike all the other seeds in my book, which can be eaten raw). Although similar in appearance to cereal grain, quinoa is an annual crop more closely related to beet or spinach, and it is the seed of the plant that we eat.
When I first discovered quinoa, I was attracted to its exceptional nutritional value, as well as its versatility and earthy, nutty taste. In addition to providing protein quality on par with dairy sources, quinoa offers the advantage of being plant based, making it attractive to vegans and vegetarians. Its low glycemic index value makes it a good option for people with diabetes. If you have allergies to soy, quinoa is an alternative plant protein choice.
Thank you for all the great feedback on my book. For this blog, I’m sharing with you, an easy quinoa carrot side dish recipe from my book to add to your healthy lifestyle menu.
Recipe
Carrots are available year round and are a nutritious vegetable to have on hand at all times. They complement quinoa in flavor, texture and color. Check out my book for my no-fail quinoa cooking instructions for this side dish. With the quinoa already prepared, this dish takes less than 9 minutes to make. The flavor combination of the quinoa, carrots and red onion goes well with tofu, fish and poultry.
Makes 2 Servings
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
- ½ cup (125 mL) chopped red onion
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) garlic, freshly minced
- 1 cup (250 mL) cooked quinoa
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- ¼ teaspoon (1 mL) salt (optional)
Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add red onions, then sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add quinoa and carrots; cook until heated through, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add salt if desired. Serve immediately.
Plant more Seeds in your Diet
Did you know that nine out of every ten bites of food we eat today start with a seed? Seeds are important in our food ecosystem and for healthy living. For more delicious recipes using chia, flax, hemp, quinoa, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds check out my book via Amazon.