Curiously Quinoa

Quinoa [read: KEEN-wah] is grain-like and can be used to substitute rice. If you want to know more about quinoa, check out wiki.  I'm here to chat about my cooking discoveries with keen-wah.

The first time I ever cooked quinoa was during a detox program (Beachbody Ultimate Reset). I heard about its health benefit and how it could substitute grains (i.w. rice). Not that I normally eat rice at home, but I have been curious.  Plus, I needed any extra non-meat non-dairy protein during the vegan weeks of the BUR, and adding quinoa simply make sense. 

I'm pretty sure I had quinoa before, however, since I don't have any strong recollection of the taste, the way it was prepared must be pretty bland and boring. I decided to experiment on quinoa and perhaps bringing in flavors from my Southeast Asian/Chinese upbringing. 

My original plan was quite  simple: To cook quinoa the regular way then mix in spices. And I am not talking about just adding lemon juice and make it a cold salad with veggies. No. I want a meal. If I wanted a salad I will eat salad as in a bowl of green leafy veggies. No. I want a warm meal that would comfort me at night when I'm cranky from not having to be able to snack my favorite popcorners during this BUR.... *breathe*....

As you can tell, I'm writing this as I'm nearing the end of the detox. It's proven to myself that little indulgences keep my subconscious happy, as a good meal would. So, going back to cooking keenwah. 

The first night I cooked quinoa was an immediate hit. I loved it. Andy loved it! Well, he likes pretty much most things I cook, but to hear him said specifically, "Is this diet food?? If it is, I think I can be on diet. Can we eat like this everyday?" How sweet. But I know you didn't really mean you'd eat it everyday, considering how much you love Nasi Kuning, Lontong Sayur, and more.  Yet that just proved the way I cooked quinoa that night could appeal to the masses, i.e. my non workout/dieting friends.

The first dish was Chicken Shitake Quinoa with Brussels Sprouts. Then went bolder with Southwestern spices, then Thai Curry. The ball has rolled and will keep rolling from this point on. 

What makes me fall in love with quinoa is the texture, taste, and versatility which opens up a new cooking playground for me.  I will stay curious and continue cooking.

Recipe

Note - The recipes are mainly vegan, because I was on BUR. To prepare the same meals for Andy I simply added chunks of rotisserie chicken or egg whites to his. Links to the recipe will slowly be activated as I add them to the blog. (see RECIPE section)

Meal

• Chicken Shitake Quinoa
• Ginger Garlic Quinoa
• Quinoa Italiano
• Southwestern Quinoa
• Thai Curry Quinoa

Breakfast/Desserts

• Cinnapple Berry Quinoa Cereal

Sides

• Brussels Sprouts
• Garlic tossed Cauliflower
• Mushrooms

Day 16 - Fixing Meals with Vitamix

DAY SIXTEEN

• Breakfast: Berries + almonds & cinnamon
• Snack: Green Juice (Avocado Veggie)
• Lunch: Quinoa with Thai Curry Stir Fry
• Snack: Berries + Japanese Yam
• Dinner: Green Cauliflower Soup

Recap

Unplanned rest day. It was good and bad at the same time. Not good for my mood, but I supposed a rest was long overdue. I had intended to practice Body Combat, but at the last minute, we both ditched and did grocery instead. The interesting part of the day, actually came late at night. A Facebook acquaintance messaged me for some reason sounded a little scandalous about my menu selections for the reset, and the fact that I workout, intensely. Well, I explained that unlike what the program prescribed, I had to modify due to my life activity. As for the food, can you blame a cook to make her own meal selection? In my book, you gotta be creative in cooking. Especially on a restrictive healthy diet such as this. Otherwise your life becomes dull and boring and pretty soon you will grow to hate eating healthy.

Starting the day...

Uneventful. No class today. Breakfast was brightened by the appearance of ... kiwi! I made avo-veggie green juice enough to last me the whole day.

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Lunch was the highlight of my day. I love quinoa. This time I used Thai Curry spice blend again. Stir frying the tofu and veggie then mix it in with cooked quinoa. Divine! I should post the recipe later. It is very simple though.

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Since I thought I was going to workout, I kinda overdid my snack. Finished the Avo Veggie juice, had some blackberries and Japanese Yam.  At least I shared those.



After a diverted plan to workout, I shifted my energy to make something new with the Vitamix. I have a lot of vegetable in the fridge and I just bought a big head of cauliflower. Voila! Green Cauliflower soup. The only drawback on using the blender is the frothy foam. I need to consult with peeps who has been using this for hot soup on how to avoid having it foamy or frothy like a latte.

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Soupy dinner always filled me up. I better go zz before tummy realized it's been tricked.

On to day 17....

Day 15 - TGI Monday! Last week of Ultimate Reset

DAY FIFTEEN

• Workout: Teaching Turbo Kick (1 hour)
• Snack: Banana
• Breakfast: Blackberries + almonds & cinnamon
• Lunch: Creamy Tomato Veggie Soup
• Workout: Body Combat practice (1 hour)
• Snack: Japanese Yam (Sweet Potato)
• Dinner: Strawberry Spinach Salad

Recap

Finished a training doesn't mean you could stop there. In fact, while the lesson still fresh in your mind it is the best time to practice. After teaching my morning Turbo Kick class, refresh - replenish - rest (a little) I went practicing Body Combat.  As always, I thought I was going to take it easy. "... just the choreography," I said to Andy. Uh uh. Jump knees, E-kicks, and well, another sweaty session.  I could barely punch my jabs in the morning, but replenishment during the day seemed to invigorate me again.

Starting the day...

Typical brekkie, ran off with a banana and away to teach TK. I felt my arms were about to fall out with each punches! No worry. I'm the instructor after all ... kekekeke :P  I just made them do a lot of legs workout while I walked around checking their forms. Kidding! Well, no I did. But that's only the last 10 minutes of the class. Banana held me up until I got home and scarved down some blackberries.

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Refreshed, then prepare lunch. I know there's a reason I made a lot of the red pepper sweet potato bisque (what a mouthful); it's a good base to make other soupy meal. I made Southwestern Red Pepper Quinoa Soup the other night. Now, I used it to make a Creamy Tomato Veggie soup.

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I bought Japanese yam at the market this morning along with the usual purple ones. Now I have alternative post workout snack. Japanese yam is red skinned and yellow inside. Firmer than the regular red and yellow sweet potato. But not as firm as Purple ones. So it is ideal to be carried in the gym bag. 

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Once again refreshed, now replenish. Dinner time. Hm... I might as well finished up the Strawberries before they go bad. Strawberry Spinach salad on the menu again.

Strawberry Spinach Salad w/ tempeh, taro and tofu

Rolling into bed and zzzz.... On to day 16....

Day 14 - Body Combat Training Day Two

DAY FOURTEEN

• Breakfast: Berries
• Workout: Body Combat Training (full day!)
• Snacks: Berries + Sweet Potato + Banana
• Lunch: Quinoa with Tofu, Mushroom, Cauli & Brussels Sprouts
• Dinner: Berries Salad

Recap

Another grueling day at the training. Actually more so than the first day. We had to do Body Combat Challenge on top of practicing and presenting our tracks. I should have brought one more set of clothes... As for food, I brought plenty. I even remembered to bring Reset supplements. The snack choices were spot on - Sweet potato, banana and berries. I didn't crash, I had good energy level (muscles are sore and beat up but I wasn't slumping) and finished the day strong. I didn't even need coffee. I thought about it, looking at Audrey's Starbucks cup, but it was more of a need to spend some money on snack.... bad habit.

I finished the banana on the way home and wasn't feeling hungry until much later that evening. For dinner, I decided to load up on fiber and veggie protein. I never added uncooked tofu in my salad prior to this detox program, but I'm loving it now. The not so firm tofu adds creamy texture to the salad. A bit like ripe avocado. As for mushrooms, I still like it better cooked. At the least I would saute it first with a spray of coconut oil before tossing them into my greens. Same goes with broccoli and cauliflower. Although once in a while I would appreciate the "sharpness" of these veggie, nothing beats garlic saute cauli over salad. And of course, I am big on fruits and almonds. Texture in my food is important. I prefer having something to bite my teeth into or chew. If I want to drink my food, I called it juice not food.

Will I ever get tired of quinoa? Once done with the reset I'm going to go Indo crazy on it :P

That's not purple tofu. That's the beets doing. You might say too much sugar for dinner, I say, if you burned as much calories as I just did today you will be needing those sugar calories.

On to day 15...

Monday Musing over Body Combat Training Weekend

Over the past weekend I took the Body Combat Initial training. That was a two full days of education on instructing and workout. Let me rephrase: two full day of useful info and intense workout. Talk about serious brain and muscles overdrive.

Considering I am on a detox and vegetarian diet, I still have enough energy to last the day. I brought enough food for meal and snacks, plus Mineralize water (part of the Ultimate Reset supplement) to hydrate and replaced minerals I lost from sweating. Yes, we all sweat profusely. I changed clothes twice each training day. Once for after each grueling workout or challenge.

My weight has been constant during week 2 of the Reset, even up a pound last week, but this morning when I weigh, I dropped two pounds and sore all over. Good sore though. 

I didn't feel low on energy, on the contrary, I was pumped! Constant stream of endorphin through the day maybe? Whatever it was, I've proven to myself that, for me, there is no way during a detox or diet like this I could keep my energy and mood high with no exercise.  Morning or afternoon workout is the best, as my mood tends to go South as the sun sets to the West.

Others who do the Ultimate Reset might experience it differently. In fact, I see many posts about how people become cranky and emo during this Ultimate Reset program.  Hm... perhaps that is why skinny models always have pouty face, because they are cranky all the time? :p  Anyway, I digress.

My conclusion is, no coffee or sweets can replace the effectiveness of a good workout in boosting up my mood (and shaved off stubborn fat ^__^ ).  You may call it addiction, I call it a lifestyle.

 
Ultimate Reset is a cleanse/diet program by Beachbody. I started my first Reset April 22, 2013. Follow my blog to get insights on my experience and food ideas. I modified the program to fit my workout needs.
 
Body Combat is one of Les Mills (lesmills.com) workout programs. My training was conducted at a 24 Hour Fitness in Upland on May 4-5, 2013.