Tag Archives: quinoa

Copycat Mary’s Gone Crackers!

Posted on by
11

When you decide to eat a diet of just wholesome foods, it’s hard to find a cracker that fits the criteria.  It was quite disappointing to read labels and find most crackers contained added sugar or highly processed grains.  I also keep wanted to find a healthy cracker that my picky toddlers would eat.  I finally found a good one in Mary’s Gone Crackers.  They are organic, vegan, gluten free and non GMO verified.  I love them and so do my kids, but at $4 a box, they can be quite pricey.  Since we go through them so fast, I thought I would try making them myself.  They came out really good!

crackers watermark

They are pretty easy to make and you can add in your own ingredients to customize your favorite flavors.  It’s also a great recipe to do with your kids.  Not really a lot of messy ingredients or measuring.  I find when I get my kids involved in the prep work, they are more likely to eat the food.

For starters, I just did a multi-seed cracker.  I really love their herb flavor, so that will be my next batch.  I also threw some chia seeds because they are so good for you.  I try to toss them in everything from baked goods to smoothies and in between.  To help keep costs down, I bought all of the ingredients out of the bulk bins at Whole Foods.  Here is my recipe.

Copycat Mary’s Gone Crackers!

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
salt to taste
optional herbs: thyme, oregano, sage, basil or parsley

Preheat oven to 350. In a food processor,  combine the quinoa and rice into a mushy consistency. Add in all the seeds and salt with a bit of water and pulse until you have a mushy ball. Get out a sheet of parchment paper about the size of a baking sheet and lay it on the counter. Take half of the mixture and place it on the parchment. Using a rolling pin
and some plastic wrap, roll out the mixture, putting the plastic wrap between the rolling pin and the mixture. That way, you can roll it out without it getting stuck. Roll as thin as possible and then transfer the parchment and rolled mixture onto a baking sheet. Repeat the same steps with the second half. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Pull them out and carefully flip them and bake for another 12 minutes. When they are done, carefully break them into bite sized pieces and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the pieces are crispy. I got about 25 – 30 crackers out of my batch. They should keep for a week or so.  Enjoy!crackers watermark

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

Posted on by
5

I have been trying hard to get more beets into my diet.  They are so good for you.  I tried blending them up in my vitamix, but couldn’t get them down.  It was not very good.  Maybe they are one of those things you have to get used to?  Coconut was like that for me.  I used to hate it,  but now I can’t get enough!  I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest.  It’s from Gluten-Free Goddess and it was amazing!  Check out her blog if you get a chance.  Lots of yummy recipes and many are vegan.

beet salad watermark

I have made roasted beets in the past and I thought they were delicious.  So I decided to give this a go.  I am so glad I did!  I did change a few things in the recipe, but I mostly kept it as is.  I am not a fan of oranges in salad, so I omitted those.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

3 cups cooked quinoa
2 beets peeled (greens removed) and cubed
2 T avocado or coconut oil
salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of half a large orange or 1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp soy sauce or tamari (I used organic soy)
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 T raw honey or maple syrup
3-4 handfuls of baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Place the beets on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with the 2 T coconut or avocado oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. While the beets are roasting, you can cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. I actually cooked the quinoa the day before.  If you buy your quinoa in bulk, cook it 2 parts water per 1 part quinoa.  Once the beets are done roasting, let them cool. Once cooled, combine the beets and quinoa in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, combine: olive oil, orange juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and honey. Whisk into a dressing. Pour over the beets and quinoa. Fold in the spinach. Now salt to taste and that’s it. We got about 4 servings.  Enjoy!

beet salad watermark

Stir Fried Quinoa

Posted on by
9

This is my husband’s go to meal to use up whatever we have in the fridge.  Well we were out of rice too so he subbed quinoa instead this time.  It came out so good!  I actually liked it better with the quinoa.  This is a great dish for vegans because quinoa is a complete plant based protein.  We added tofu to ours.  Just add your favorite protein and you have a great little meal.

quinoa stir fry

This is a super easy meal to whip up quickly.  We almost always have a container with cooked rice or quinoa on hand to make meals last longer so the quinoa had been cooked ahead of time.  If you have never cooked quinoa, it is a 2:1 ratio.  I part quinoa to 2 parts water.  Bring to a boil and then cover, turn down and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Stir Fried Quinoa

2 cups quinoa cooked
3 carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
1/2 yellow onion rough chopped
3 T soy sauce or bragg’s aminos
1 T mirin
2 tsp garlic powder
2 T toasted sesame oil
salt to taste

In a saucepan, saute veggies for 5-7 minutes in toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, salt and garlic.  Then add the quinoa and saute for another 6-7 minutes.  The veggies should still retain some crunch.  This made about 3 good size portions.  Enjoy!

quinoa stir fry