Love for Food

Quinoa with Black Beans and Apricots

Lately I've been eating a lot of my quinoa parsley salad. It's healthy and a great low-calorie, easy to eat meal for long nights at Riker's. This week I wanted to switch it up a bit and wanted to try something new. This is not too much of a deviation from what I usually make but the addition of cinnamon and black beans really changes it up. I found this recipe in the new Points Plus Cookbook. I added a lemon for some acid and carrots for crunch. You can use shallots or scallions instead of sauteing the onions first - depending on how "onion-ey " you like it. Does anyone have a different recipe for quinoa salad?

Ingredients: Serves Four
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 carrots diced
1 lemon (juice)
1 small onion chopped
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method:

  • Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in quinoa, apricots, and cinnamon stick, return to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender. 12 minutes.
  • Stir in black beans, carrots, and lemon juice. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in parsley.
Time: 20 minutes active
Cost: $3.00 total, .75 per serving
Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving
248 Cal.
4 g Total Fat
0 g Sat Fat
0 g Trans Fat
0 mg Chol
240 mg Sod
43 g Total Carb
6 g Total Sugar
7 g Fib
10 g Prot
56 mg Calc

Weight Watcher Points +: 6 points per 3/4 cup serving