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After completely overdoing it at the office cookie swap in December, I decided to pull myself together and start eating mindfully. I’m feeling a lot better and have even lost 10 lbs without feeling like I’m trying that hard. I’m eating super healthy foods in quantities that my body needs to not feel full. I’ve cut down on caffeine too and rarely have dairy or refined sugar. But I don’t feel deprived. I’m going to see how far this approach can take me.
I’ve turned to Pinterest to find new inspiration for recipes and have started a board called “Getting Healthy in 2014” Come follow along!
While poking around, I found a recipe for Mustard Quinoa, Cranberry & Kale Salad. It had appeared on a blog called Green Kitchen Stories and was part of a post they had done for Bon Appétit magazine that featured vegan recipes for a Christmas dinner.
I decided to adapt the recipe for a dinner party I was planning that was going to be super healthy and have the theme of mustard running through all three courses.
So here is my version. I added shredded Brussels sprouts and punched up the mustard flavor using both Dijon and whole grain mustard.
- 1 cup red quinoa
- Sea salt to taste
- 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup Maille Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp Maille Old Style whole grain Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 10 oz bag of chopped Lacinato kale
- About ¾ of a 10 oz bag of Trader Joe's shredded Brussels Sprouts
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup roasted, salted pecans
- ¼ cup fresh pomegranate seeds
- Bring 2 cups of water or vegetable stock to boil. Add quinoa and simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl for cooling.
- In a really large bowl (the largest bowl you have), zest the lemon and squeeze out the lemon juice. Add the oil, vinegar and both mustards. Whisk vigorously until completely emulsified and smooth.
- Add the quinoa to the bowl (when it's cool) and toss to coat.
- Now add the kale, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, pecans, and pomegranate seeds and toss to coat completely. Allow this mixture to sit for several hours (in the fridge would be ideal) to soften the kale leaves and Brussels sprouts.
- Enjoy. Can be stored in a sealed contained and enjoyed the following day as well.
. It’s all about rapid fat loss and it’s been working pretty well, so I’m not eager to mess with it, but the beauty of the program is that once each week, you are required, that’s right, required, to binge. One must do so carefully, but still.