So happy this week is almost over! I’ve been on call for work and getting a lot of night calls this week and I’m feeling the lack of sleep. But enough whining, every once in awhile I get a thank you gift at work from co-workers happy to have working computers. Today I got one perfectly tailored to me.
Apparently the word is getting around that I’m a healthy eater. :-) And she was so sweet when she delivered it saying she was thinking about cookies, but thought that wouldn’t be a great idea with so much junk food everywhere during the holidays. Another co-worker knows to bribe me with fresh fruit from the cafeteria when he wants something done fast while he usually gets chocolate doughnuts for my neighbor. Anyway, this was a pretty big carrot snack pack for only 25 calories. But, I would rather buy a 10 lb. bag of organic whole carrots for $5 at Costco and chop them myself before paying a premium for these individually wrapped snack packs.
Lunch wasn’t exactly beautiful today, but it was tasty and cheap. Part leftovers from yesterday’s curry squash tempeh and part raw marina served over heated Tofu Shirataki Noodles.
The plate arrangement is lacking, but I was running late to lunch and starved basically just heaving food onto the plate. :-P Those noodles are okay, but I prefer the texture and flavors of Pasta Slim noodles. They’re also cheaper at Whole Foods.
For dinner, I wanted something hot and comforting, but quick enough for a week night. I was thinking a bean soup, but ended up with an awesome quinoa chili after about 40 minutes of kitchen experimenting.
Lentil Quinoa Chili
In a large soup pot, caramelize a chopped onion and 2 minced cloves of garlic in 2 tbsp. of olive oil.
In a high speed blender, puree:
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tbsp. chili powder
- 4 cups of water
Pour mixture into into the soup pot.
Add:
- 1/2 cup of Quinoa
- 1/2 cup of dried green lentils
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 16 oz. package of frozen corn
- 2 medium zucchinis, chopped
Bring to a boil, then simmer the mixture over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Enjoy! Makes 6 servings, or 4 large servings.
This is my first recipe cooking with nutritional yeast and it added rice, creaminess to the chili. You can have fun adding whatever veggies you like to the simmering pot, I used what I had and I need to go shopping this weekend. :-)
But now a DVR’d new episode of Big Bang Theory and maybe a glass of wine is calling me.
Lentils and quinoa are two of my favorite foods! The recipe looks great!
Thanks, I can’t believe how much this recipe made! But the leftovers were good for lunch too. :-)
Aw, I love it that she gave you carrots! Sweet!
This chilli looks awesome!
I wish I could get more office gifts like that instead of the piles of junk food!
1st recipe cooking with nooch? how is that possible…i swear you make sauces all the time w/ nooch! ok maybe like truly IN a recipe. not just in a sauce :)
as for chopping carrots yourself, being more economical than snack sized bags…yeah it floors me how many moms buy something like teddy grahams in indiv wrapped snackpacks. they could buy a huge BOX of Tgrahms for pennies on the dollar. That is, if one is buying T Grahams at all, rather than just, ummm, apple slices :)
I’ve used nooch a lot in raw recipes and sauces, but have never cooked it into a chili. But it’s something I’ve got to do more of!
Agreed, I had to laugh at the individual packaged snack packs of grapes at Target with kiddie cartoons all over them, they were like 4x the price of regular ol’ grapes. :-P
The lentil chili looks fantastic! I don’t think I’ve ever tried something like that before. I’m definitely putting it on my “recipes to try” list ;)
Thanks! I’m very familiar with that list, I have a long one myself. :-)
Christine! How lucky are you that you are starting to have people around you give you food gifts more inline with what you will eat, rather than be ridiculed, or mocked. That is wonderful :) Good the word is getting out hey. And that lentil quinoa dish looks really tasty and comforting. Mum is giving me her pressure cooker to take back to Saudi so I am going to be making loads of lentils in it I think.
Thanks, totally! During this time of year, vendors send so much holiday junk food that it piles up! Why can’t they send gift cards, toys, or even cash? :-) I am becoming a lentil addict and loving all the recipes I’ve tried with them. And I really like that they take just 30 minutes to cook from dry.
I usually cook my chili with red beans, but lentils would be so much quicker. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
@keenonquinoa