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Vegetable Quinoa! Bursting with sweet tomatoes, zucchini and asparagus this veggie filled meal is delicious and filling! Vegan + Gluten Free + Low Calorie
Another Monday. Another week. I wonder what will be in store for me after last week's fiasco, which I am still upset about. If you've been following me, you know I've had just a few things to deal with this year. Mom's emergency heart surgery, my foot injury, physical therapy, calf strain, high stress job. I'm crossing my fingers and toes this week will be uneventful because this chica needs a timeout from life.
Alright my fellow kinwaah lovers, I have a meatless Monday dinner for you today. Now that it's the peak of summer, I'm sure you are eating lighter and healthier and on the hunt for a quick and easy dinner.. If you're anything like me, you would rather spend your time at the pool instead of the kitchen too.
Well, I have you covered with this summer vegetable quinoa. The hardest part about this meal is prepping and chopping the vegetables. I learned from Rachel Ray years ago clean, prep and chop produce the day you bring it home from the market. Unfortunately, I've not been doing that and I really need to start again. It seriously makes meals so much easier.
One could argue cooking the quinoa is more laborious than dealing with vegetables. Grains can be finicky. I usually bring the water to a boil, add the grains, turn to low and let it sit 30 minutes to do it's thing. To me, it's less work than vegetable prepping.
Summer Vegetable Quinoa
This meal is delicious. It's garlicky and spicy. I like the extra spice, but you could definitely scale back if that's not your thing. This recipe is a quick and easy way to get your serving of fresh summer vegetables and protein-packed quinoa. All you need is a glass of wine!
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Summer Vegetable Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 15 ounces artichoke hearts in water drained & sliced roughly
- 2 zucchini diced
- 2 summer squash diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 bunch asparagus chopped in 3rd's
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan to top omit if strict Vegan
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook quinoa according to package instructions.
- Preheat oven 325 F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and placed asparagus on the baking sheet. Bake asparagus 18 minutes. Then remove from oven and cool on the pan.
- While asparagus bakes, preheat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil, lemon juice, zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Cook 5-7 minutes then add tomatoes, lemon and red pepper flakes. Cook another 5-7 minutes until tomatoes and zucchini are tender.
- Last add artichokes and asparagus to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook another 2 minutes to heat. Serve immediately and top with parmesan.
Notes
- 1 serving equals ~1 1/4 cup.
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my nutrition clients.
Nutrition
Yummy! I love medleys like this 🙂
This looks delicious and healthy. So happy I found you on the Get Him Fed link party! I also host a link party that I would love you to come share on, The Yuck Stops Here. It is open until 8pm ET this Sunday on my blog Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos. I really hope to see you there. If you can’t make it this week, I hope you’ll swing by next week to share! HUGS
Thanks for stopping by. I will definitely check it out!
I like my veggies to have a little char on them so I don't really mind if they get a little too roasted/grilled. Gummy grains are never good so I'd have to say that grains are more difficult. Grilled pineapple and roasted sweet potatoes are two of my favorite side dishes!
Sweet potatoes are the best!
Easy for me is anything with eggs and made in one skillet - like a hash! Somehow simplifying it that way makes it feel easier even if there's still a good deal of chopping involved.
Agreed and you can never go wrong with eggs.
My solution is not to food prep at all LOL! Quick meals are usually something with eggs or a smoothie!
Me too but I love good food too much!