Yogurt Quinoa & Raw Mango Pickle

Do you know concentrated sweeteners in any form, natural or not when combined with saturated fat, high levels of carbohydrates - release insulin, a hormone that promotes fat storage. This insulin response can lead to insulin resistance down the line, which is associated with a host of problems, including elevated triglycerides, heart disease, and diabetes. After all the festivities and the festive food high in sugar, carbohydrates and fat it is better to go for simple and nutritious easy to prepare meals. Few years back i would have settled with yogurt rice, but knowing the nutritional benefits of Quinoa which is low in carbohydrates and high in protein i replaced it with rice. This is one of the best quinoa dishes you can have, try this one out and i am sure you will go for yogurt quinoa instead of white rice in future.

Quinoa, the "mother grain," is an extremely nutritious seed. It has a protein value that is extremely high (12-18%) and the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is easy to digest and naturally contains no gluten. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.



Cooking Time – 15 mins

Preparation Time – 15 mins

Serves – 2



Ingredients



Cooked Quinoa – 1 cup

Raw milk Yogurt – 1/2 cup

Grated & Finely Chopped Vegetables – 1/2 cup(Cucumber, Carrot, Red & Green Bell Pepper)

Pomegranate seeds – 1/4 cup (optional)

Chopped Cilantro – 2 tbsp(optional)

Salt – 1 tsp or to taste



Tempering



Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida powder – pinch

Chopped Curry leaves – 1/2 tsp(optional)

Grated ginger – 1/2 tsp

Chopped green chili – 1(optional)



Method



1) Soak, rinse, cook quinoa and set it aside to cool.

2) Add yogurt, chopped vegetables, pomegranate seeds, chopped cilantro, salt to the cooked quinoa and combine thoroughly.

3) Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, once they stop spluttering, add asafoetida powder, green chili, grated ginger and curry leaves. Once the green chili slightly changes color, remove it and add it to the quinoa mix.



Note -  This can be given for toddlers also, if your toddler is still on mashed and soft food, do not add pomegranate seeds, chopped cilantro, chopped curry leaves, green chili and add grated whichever vegetables they can handle. I started quinoa to my daughter when she was handling only pureed and mashed foods. This is soft and mushy then rice and nutritionally much superior to rice.



Raw Mango Pickle

For the Pickle Recipe please check out this link.

Event Participation



1) The yogurt quinoa goes to Food for 7 stages of life-Cooking for Infants and Toddlers hosted by RV. This dish is very appropriate for Toddlers between 2-3 years of age.



2) The Yogurt Quinoa & Tindora (Little Gourd Curry) goes to Show me your lunch box hosted by Divya.



3) This Yogurt Quinoa & Tindora(Little Gourd) curry also goes to Wholesome lunch box event hosted by Coffee and Vanilla.

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Banana-Oat Bar

 



I had few ripe bananas at home and my first thought was to make banana nut muffins. But i am trying to cut down on wheat consumption and the next option was to make granola bars. But i just had half cup of extra thick Oats and i didn’t feel like driving a mile to buy them. Well i love to experiment with food and that made to come up with this recipe and it did taste good, to top it all was “Kid Approved”.



Know what you Eat – A single serving of whole oats rich in soluble fiber can reduce hypertension, or high blood pressure, and so reduce the need for anti-hypertensive medication.  Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound called a prebiotic because it nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our ability to absorb nutrients, plus compounds that protect us against unfriendly microorganisms.



Ingredients



Oat flour – 1 1/4 cup

Extra thick Oats – 1/2 cup

Grated Carrot – 1/4 cup

Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup

Agave Nectar – 1/4 cup

Sunflower or Canola oil – 1/4 cup

Milk – 1/4 cup

Extra ripe bananas – 3

Alum free Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Chia or Flax Powder – 1 tbsp

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon powder – 1/4 tsp

Sliced Almonds – 1/4 cup



Method



1) Mash the ripe banana into puree.

2) Mix Oat flour, Oats, grated carrots, coconut, baking soda, chia powder, salt, cinnamon powder and combine thoroughly.

3) Add Agave Nectar, Canola Oil, Milk and banana puree  to the oats mixture and mix without any lumps.

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5) Line the baking pan with parchment paper or grease and transfer the batter to the baking pan.

6) Spread the sliced almonds on the top and bake till a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Enjoy these guilt free snacks.



Event Participation



1. This goes to Madhuram's Whole Grain Baking Event- Oats for October 09.



2. This also goes to Guilt Free Snacks, event hosted by Yasmeen.

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Taco with Kidney Bean & Veggies

Know what you Eat - Kidney beans are a very good source of protein, cholesterol-lowering fiber, very good source of folate, manganese,  thiamin (vitamin B1), phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, potassium and vitamin K. In addition to lowering cholesterol, kidney beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.  Kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Just one cup of cooked kidney beans supplies 177.0% of the daily value for molybdenum.



My elder one loves taco and I make this quite often. I alternate between black bean and kidney bean to make the bean filling and use greek yogurt instead of sour cream. With the goodness of beans and veggie, they make a perfect anytime snack or a wholesome meal for kids.



Ingredients



For the bean filling



Cooked Kidney Beans - 1 1/2 cups(Rinsed and Drained)

Diced Tomatoes - 3/4 Cup

Chopped Onion - 1 (medium size)

Chopped Green Chilies - 1/4 cup (Adjust this according to your taste)

Garlic - 1 clove(minced finely)

Chili powder - 1 tablespoon (Adjust this according to your taste)

Ground Cumin - 1/2 teaspoon

Dried Oregano - 1 teaspoon

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste, the )

Garlic powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard powder  - 1/2 teaspoon



Canola or Sunflower oil - 1 tablespoon



For Garnishing



Shredded low fat mexican blend cheese (rennetless)  - 1/3 cup

Large Avocado peeled and cubed - 1

Cherry tomatoes washed, dried and halved - 1 cup

Chopped scallion - 1/2 cup

Chopped Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Lemon juice - half or to taste



10 Taco Shells

Greek yogurt - 1/2 cup(optional)



Method



1) In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender.

2) Stir in beans, tomatoes, chilies and seasonings, bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens and all the water is dried out.

3) Heat oven to 325 degrees F and place the tacos on a cookie sheet and bake for 6 to 7 minutes until crisp.

4) Combine all the garnishing ingredients, add salt and lemon juice and mix thorougly and gently and keep it aside. ( Add salt and lime juice just before serving otherwise, the garnishing ingredients will become watery).

5) Now spoon the bean filling to heated taco shells upto half the shell and top with the garnishing mix as mentioned in 4 and drizzle with greek yogurt for healther alternate to dressing or sour cream and serve immediately.



Note - Old EL Paso stand n stuff taco shells with no trans fat.





Event Participation



1) This goes to JFI-Rajma hosted by Divya an event started by Indira.



2) This also goes to Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

3) This dish goes to Garnish the Dish hosted by Pavithra and Nithya.

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