I’ve never really had a soft spot for the typical comfort “on-the-go” breakfast foods like muffins, donuts, bagels and scones. With the colder months and holidays ahead, I thought it was a good idea to come up with a muffin recipe for those who do have that soft spot.

Often times people tribute any extra weight they might be carrying around to their morning breakfast routine of bagels, pancakes, or [fill in the blank with your favorite pastry or starchy breakfast food]. My response when I hear comments like is to figure out how to make a not-so-good-for-you food a better-for-you food, which usually means making it at home. Depriving yourself of foods that you crave is not going to do anyone any good. This is why fad and crash dieting never works in the long run.

When you cook for yourself instead of eating from a restaurant you know exactly what is in your food. Keep in mind that restaurants are a business so their main objective is profit. They want the food to taste good so that you keep coming back and with friends. They might choose to use less healthy or cheaper ingredients in order to keep their profit up.

These muffins are great because they are mini but satisfying. I added flaxseeds for extra fiber to help you feel fuller longer. Flaxseeds are one of the most concentrated plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid, which means we can only get it from the foods we eat. We need essential fatty acids for tissue strength, muscle tone, cholesterol metabolism, blood clotting and a healthy heart… pretty important stuff.

When you use flaxseeds, always make sure you grind them up before serving. Grinding them up breaks their hard shells and allows for digestion and absorption of their nutrients. You can grind them in a coffee grinder – it’s that easy. Store them in an airtight container in a cool and dark place like your refrigerator.

So go ahead… give ‘em a try.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups almond flour

3/4 cups oat flour (pour rolled oats into your blender and hit the switch). If you are gluten free (GF) make you sure you buy GF rolled oats. They aren’t all GF.

15 oz pumpkin (canned is fine)

2 tablespoons flax seed, grounded

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup cranberries (optional)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large mixing bowl and blend

Fold in cranberries with spoon

Pour batter into muffin baking sheet. The batter will not rise very much so you can fill it 3/4 or more of the way full.

Bake until golden brown on top – approximately 40 minutes

The Bareket’s will be hosting Thanksgiving 2009 for about 30 people – both family and close friends. Your first response might be “Holy crap! 30 people!” or “Are they crazy?”, but to be honest I really love and enjoy the company of my “family” (those that I am related to by blood and those that I sometimes forget that I am not really related to.). Besides, isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about? Lots of food, lots of people and lots to be thankful for? It sure is in my house!

Growing up in a family of 6, it was always pretty easy to have a large crowd at any meal – holiday or not, so the idea of 30 doesn’t sound too overwhelming to me, but it’s still a lot of people… and a lot of different taste buds! That’s why I’m starting to experiment with some new recipes NOW! The guests shouldn’t be the guinea pigs (even if they are family)! Some of us are more health conscious than others, so I want to make sure that everything on the menu satisfies everyone!

I wanted a basic chocolate chip cookie that I could use for Thanksgiving, but also for any occasion and these really hit the spot! They are super easy to make and they sure do taste good! These cookies don’t have any wheat or gluten and I substituted honey for sugar.

I spent quite a bit of time in the baking aisle at my local grocery store trying to decide on the “right” chocolate chip, and none of them really got my taste buds groovin’. I finally decided to throw all of the pre-made chocolate chip options out the window and come up with my own “chip”. I added 1 bar of Green & Black dark chocolate to my shopping basket and headed to the check-out counter. Details on that later.

So here is my recipe. It makes about 2.5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 banana

4 tablespoons Ghee (or organic butter)

1/3 cup honey (or agave nectar)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 bar ( 3.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped (I used Green & Black 70% dark chocolate)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour rolled oats into blender and blend until they become a fine flour texture.

Combine all ingredients except the dark chocolate in a large mixing bowl and blend well.

Add chopped dark chocolate and stir into batter with spoon. Do not use an electric blender.

Grease baking sheet. Scoop dough and place on baking sheet. Each scoop should be about 1 inch in diameter. The cookies will grow in all directions in the oven so don’t place the balls too close together.

Grease back of fork and use to flatten cookies.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until edges become golden brown.

Let cool for about 2 minutes and use spatula to move cookies to a cooling rack. Let cookies sit until they are cooled completely.

Enjoy!

Brrrr… it sure has gotten cold out there and quick! The space heaters and blankets are out of the closet, scarves and fall jackets are on the coat rack and my body is craving warm foods. I always seem to be “that girl” who is cold even when everyone else is warm, so in the cooler months I especially need to do everything I can to keep warm. I can’t get enough hot tea and soup. One of my favorites is split pea soup – sure it’s not much to look at (my mom always taught me never to judge a book by its cover), but it sure does taste good! And split peas are good for you! Split peas are a great source of fiber, potassium and folate, plus they are available year-round. Not bad huh?

Alone, split peas do not have a very dominating flavor, so they are easy to dress up with spices (instead of salt) depending on what you are in the mood for that day. The recipe below is very flavorful – I think you will find that you won’t even need to add salt or pepper.

Ingredients:

2 cups split peas, rinsed 

5 carrots, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

3 tablespoons VegiZest

3 teaspoons Mrs. Dash

Directions:

Add 6 cups of water into pot

Add ingredients listed above

Cover with a lid and bring to a boil

Reduce heat to low and simmer until peas are soft – approximately 1.5 hours

Allow to cool, use immersion blender to slightly blend the soup

Other than being healthy and homemade, the other great perk about this soup is that it cost less than $6 to make and gives you about 10 cups of soup! A small cup of soup at the local store in Asheville is about $4 – what a big difference! Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost a lot.

You have heard me say this before, and I promise you will hear me say it again – I love sweet foods. I really do. I hear comments all the time from people feeling stressed and anxious by the war on their sweet tooth or whatever it is they crave, that never seems to end.  The way I see it – cravings are just our body’s way of trying to tell us something. Our bodies work hard to maintain homeostasis 24/7 doing all sorts of crazy things, like maintaining body temperature and controlling muscle movements in our digestive system to make sure we are constantly in a state of balance. That’s a pretty tough job! So why should the foods we crave mean anything different? We just have to listen!

Instead of chowing down on candy bars and chocolate to satisfy my cravings, I incorporate naturally sweet foods into my diet on a regular basis. This way my body gets what it needs without the harmful effects of sugar like suppression of the immune system, varicose veins, and weight gain. And you know what? I don’t really crave the high-sugar and high-processed sweets that you typically find in a movie theater or the checkout counter of your local convenience store. They just don’t “talk to me” the way they used to years ago.

So next time you feel like having something sweet try red quinoa. It’s a whole-grain so it will be absorbed into your bloodstream slowly, keeping your mood and energy leveled, but sweeter than regular quinoa to satisfy the sweet craving. For more information about the benefits of whole-grains check out my post on why we need carbs. 

I added local veggies and sesame seeds to the cooked quinoa. Check out the recipe below. 

Ingredients

1 cup red quinoa, cooked

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup peppers, chopped

1/2 cup dark leafy greens (I used swiss chard)

Directions

To cook the quinoa I like to use a rice cooker. It’s so easy – all you have to do is rinse the quinoa, add water (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water), hit the “cook” button and that’s it! It turns itself off once cooked.

If you use the stove – rinse your grains to remove the bitter coating, saponin. Quinoa is usually rinsed before it’s packaged, but it can’t hurt to rinse it again. Combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups of water in a saucepan, cover with lid and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until the water has been absorbed – approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Roast sesame seeds – place in dry saucepan and apply heat. Once they start popping, they are done. Keep your eye on these guys so they don’t burn.

Water saute veggies

Combine quinoa, sesame seeds and veggies

So next time you have a craving don’t panic and grab the first edible item in site! Listen to your body and see what it really wants.

Yesterday was one of the nicest days we have seen in Asheville in awhile – not a cloud in the sky, breezy but not too chilly and the different colored leaves were really starting to pop. It was absolutely gorgeous! I spent the morning studying, but was itching for an excuse to be outdoors when I remembered that the local Downtown Tailgate Market was open until 6:30pm. Perfect! I grabbed my reusable grocery bag and took a stroll to the market. 

Asheville is great for health counselors and the health conscious. There is strong support for local food and local farmers with Farmer’s Markets scattered throughout Asheville year-round and several restaurants offering local and seasonal selections on their menus. When family and friends visit they are always amazed by the diverse and delicious cuisines available in Asheville. Anyway, enough bragging about Asheville.

The Downtown Tailgate Market is one of the smaller markets in Asheville, but it is right up the road from my apartment so I was able to walk and maximize my time outdoors. Local food, sunshine and exercise – it was a triple bonus!

The nights have been getting cold up here in the mountains so I knew I wanted to make soup. I tend to be cold constantly so once fall settles in, I immediately start to crave hot (temperature, not spice) foods. I already had beans and carrots, but I needed more vegetables to add to the soup. Here is a picture of all of the delicious vegetables that I got – and for a whopping $13.25. Pretty sweet huh?

Buying local foods directly from the farmers is less expensive than buying the same food item in your grocery store – there aren’t any transportation costs or middlemen involved to jack up the price. Plus you’re getting more flavor in your food because it was picked at its peak level of ripeness and taste – it did not ripen in the back of a truck. 

I got to be outdoors the entire time I was shopping, mingle with other members of the community, chat with the farmers and see and smell varieties of vegetables that you don’t typically see in the grocery store. See the skinny green stalks with purple and white stems to the left of the squash in the picture? That’s celery. Yea – celery. Smells like celery, tastes like celery, but it definitely does not look like the thick, light green stalks of celery you typically see in grocery stores. Pretty cool, huh? I didn’t have to sit in traffic or wait in line either. It doesn’t get any better…

Here is my recipe for the black bean soup that I made with the celery.

Ingredients

2 cups black beans

3 – 5 carrots, chopped

celery, chopped – I used my entire bunch, but if you are using thicker stalks than I think 3 should do it

Kale (or dark leafy green of your choice) – 1/2 to 1 bunch, chopped (more about that below) – I love dark leafy greens so I used an entire bunch. Add however much you prefer – after all this is your soup, right?

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

Dr. Fuhrman’s Vegizest (You can still make soup without this ingredient. I highly recommend it for flavor and added nutrients.)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Onion powder to taste

Pepper to taste

Mrs. Dash to taste

Directions

Rinse beans and pour into large soup pot

Add 6 cups of water (for more nutrients replace 1 cup with carrot juice)

Add chopped onions, carrots, garlic, celery, tomatoes and spices

Cover with lid and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook until beans are tender – about 45 minutes to 1 hour

Once beans are tender, add chopped kale and stir into the soup – the kale will cook immediately

Remove from heat and allow to cool

Use immersion blender to blend soup to preferred thickness (this isn’t necessary to enjoy the soup. I like soup that is really thick so I prefer to blend)

About the kale (or any leafy green you choose)… when you cut it up, you want to remove the stem first – like this. Cut down both sides of the stem. Toss the step and chop the remaining halves.

Then you can stack a few leaves on top of each other before you slice them width-wise. This will save you time.

My entire apartment smelled like soup. Mmmmm. Ryan came home and wanted to know what was cookin’ – it smelled so good. I hope you enjoy this healthy and filling soup throughout the cold months ahead!

I love brussels sprouts! I mean really really love brussels sprouts. I get a lot of funny looks when I say this, but what’s not to love? They taste great and they are really good for you. Brussels sprouts are a member of the cruciferous family (which includes broccoli, cauliflower and kale) so they are great for cancer protection and they are also great sources of vitamins C, A, E and K.

And I also love figs! I’ve always thought of figs as a delicacy and anytime I would see them listed on a menu in a restaurant, I would almost always order that dish. They are too delicious to resist! Not only are they super sweet, but they are also loaded with fiber, potassium and phytosterols. Phyto-what? Phytosterols. Foods rich in phytosterols are known to help reduce cholesterol levels in the body by blocking cholesterol absorption. Good stuff, huh?

Add some spinach for iron, protein, fiber, and a whole laundry list of “good-for-you” properties with some pumpkin seeds and fish and you have one heck of a health promoting meal!

The other reason I love this meal is because this recipe was recommended to me by an old friend from high school that I recently reconnected with. I will forever now think of Lauren when I think of brussels sprouts and figs. Thank you for this delicious dinner!

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

10 – 15 brussels sprouts

6 or 7 figs

1/2 – 3/4 lb of your favorite white fish (Lauren recommends chilean Sea Bass, but it was not available in NC so I used Hake) – Replace fish with chicken or no animal protein at all. This dish is great as a stand alone too!

5 ounces spinach

3 ounces arugula 

Pumpkin Seeds – just a handful or 2

Lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut brussels sprouts and figs into fourths and lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Toss and season to taste. Pop in the oven for 35 minutes. Overcooked and soft brussels sprouts not only lose their flavor and amazing texture but most importantly – nutrients. They should be soft on the outside, but still have some firmness on the inside.

Add the fish into the middle of the brussels sprouts and figs and cook for another 15 minutes.

Roast pumpkin seeds – pour the seeds onto a small pan and add heat. Move the seeds around with a fork so that they don’t burn. Once they start popping they are roasted. Make sure they don’t burn!

Lightly water saute spinach and arugula.

Put a pile of greens on your plate and top with fish, brussels sprouts, figs and pumpkin seeds. Season with lemon juice.

As Lauren instructed me “Place all ingredients on a beautiful place. Sit down, Give Thanks & Gratitude for your day and Enjoy!”

I don’t know where you may be tuning in from, but here in Asheville, fall swooped in out of nowhere. The crisp air and the beginning of foliage… ahhhh. Fall is my favorite season, especially in the mountains of Western North Carolina. What’s not to love? Some of my favorite vegetables are in season now – root vegetables! In the colder months, it’s natural for us to crave heavier foods to keep us warm and grounded. If you’re cravings are already kickin’ in, give this recipe a try. 

Ingredients:

1 Spaghetti Squash

Any and all of your favorite vegetables – I used broccoli, mushrooms, sliced carrots, corn, tomatoes and arugula

Spaghetti sauce – ok, so normally I am all about homemade, homemade, homemade. However, I came across this local, organic tomato sauce at Earth Fare and had to give it a try. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish. Cut the squash in half (lengthwise), remove seeds and place in baking dish with cut sides on the bottom. Bake until tender (approximately 40 minutes).

While the squash is baking, water saute your veggies.

Remove squash from oven and allow to cool. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash and place in a large bowl. 

Add veggies and tomato sauce and dinner is served!

I admit it. My entire life I have always had a sweet tooth. I never really struggled with my weight or had other health problems growing up, so I was never forced to address and curb my addiction. That’s right – we get addicted to sugar. Eating even a small amount leads to desire for more and when we “kick the habit” we go through withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, cravings and fatigue. I no longer get my “fix” from M&M’s, chocolate chip cookies, and gummy candies (my 3 favorites when I was younger). Instead I incorporate sweet vegetables into my daily diet which alleviates the need for the big sugar kick I used to rely on from cookies and candy.

Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants including Vitamin C and beta-carotene (what becomes Vitamin A in your body). They are also great sources of iron, Vitamin B6, potassium and fiber! Plus they taste pretty darn good. They are super sweet and but without all the added sugar.

This recipe is full of sweetness and you get all the added health benefits by eating sweet potatoes instead of sugar, corn starch and cocoa butter. 

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes

Cinnamon

Extra virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Chop sweet potatoes and place in baking dish large enough so that the potatoes are evenly dispersed across the bottom of the dish

Sprinkle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and cinnamon

Toss potatoes to make sure they are evenly coated

Bake until tender – approximately 30 minutes

These potatoes are quick and easy, make a great side dish to any meal or can be eaten by themselves at any temperature as a sweet snack.

Sure, I’ve “entertained” before, but this past weekend was my first time hosting a holiday in my home, and not just any holiday – this was Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year and one of the most religious holidays in the Jewish religion. No pressure at all, right? Even though Rosh Hashanah fell on a weekend this year, I opted to stay in Asheville and invite my friends (both Jewish and not) over to celebrate the New Year. I am so blessed to have my youngest sister, Arielle, in school at Warren Wilson College, just 15 minutes away and thought it was the perfect opportunity to have a satellite Bareket Rosh Hashanah dinner. I’ve always been grateful for my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who have ever invited me to their home for a special occasion. It was always obvious that they put a lot of hard work into the meal and celebration, but until I was the “lead captain” on Friday evening, I have to admit that I never realized exactly how much hard work was involved… and I only had 7 mouths to feed! Thanksgiving with my family is typically at least 30 people. My mom always said that after 10 or 15 people, there wasn’t too much additional work involved to host 30 guests. Growing up in a family of 6, hitting 10 or 15 was pretty easy and standard, but I still think I need some more practice before I take on 30. Despite all the time and energy that went into making this New Year special and different from just a casual dinner with friends and family, I loved hosting my first holiday dinner in MY home and can see why sometimes my aunt and mom “argue” over who gets to host which holidays every year. Lucky for y’all, I’ve learned a few things along the way…

Figure out what you can do the day (or days / week) before and hop to it!

Cleaning, setting the table, chopping, cutting, marinating, baking, grilling, etc. is a lot to do the day of an event (especially if you’re a full-time student like me, or you work full time). Make a list of everything that needs to get done before your first guest arrives and see what you can do in advance. For example, I chopped cauliflower (more on that later), baked my banana bread and set the table on Thursday. This shaved about 2 hours off of my set-up time on Friday. I needed to borrow a friend’s table and chairs (thank you Wendy) because I couldn’t seat everyone around my kitchen table, which I also had to plan for in advance. If you’re using cloth napkins (which I highly recommend – not only are they eco-friendly, but it makes the guests feel super special, and is an easy and inexpensive way to “dress up” a meal) add washing and ironing napkins to your “to-do day/s before list”. If you like to decorate with flowers, you can add pick them up a day in advance as well. Selecting your menu and grocery shopping should also be taken care of in advance.

Guests do not equal Guinea Pigs!

Sure we all like to impress our guests with our delicious and creative culinary skills, but to reduce your stress level and save time, make sure you are selecting dishes that you’ve made in advance and know taste good! Not only will you know exactly how long they take to prepare, but this will keep any “surprises” at bay. Experiment and try new recipes on your own time. On my menu – Honey Chicken/Salmon/Tofu, salad with local veggies, quinnoa with roasted peppers onions and mushrooms, steamed broccoli and Popcorn Cauliflower. For dessert, wheat-free, sugar-free banana bread and a fruit salad. I have made everything before so I knew exactly how long everything took to cook and there were no surprises. Here is the recipe for Popcorn Cauliflower.

Ingredients:
2 heads of  cauliflower - cut head into medium sized florets, discard stems
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5-7 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
In large bowl, combine the salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric and oil. Add cauliflower florets and toss evenly to coat.
Place in a single layer on baking sheet
Roast uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until the largest pieces can be pierced with a fork. If the tops are starting to get too brown, toss the cauliflower during the baking process.

Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!

Ask every guest or family attending to make a small contribution to the meal or evening – whether it’s as simple as bringing a bottle of wine, or something more involved like baking their famous apple pie, this will help check a few items off of your to-do list and make your guests feel helpful for contributing to the evening. I personally don’t ever like to show up at a special event in someone’s home empty handed, so when the host “assigns” a dish to me, I am appreciative. The guest should be capable of whatever duty you are assigning to them, so if you know they don’t like to bake, then don’t ask them to! Instead ask them to bring a bottle of wine or flowers. My friend Mimi just learned how to make challah from scratch, so what did I ask Mimi to bring… challah! It’s not rocket science. Here it is and it tasted as good as it looks!

My sister, Arielle, and her roomie, Erin, are one of the few privileged folks I know who have a garden full of vegetables so easily accessible. So what did I ask them to bring… vegetables for the salad! Here they are chopping away.

The science behind getting every dish to be done at the SAME time and ON time

Figure out what will take the longest to cook and start there. Work backwards from the time you want to serve the food to know when to light the stove and heat the oven. So if you plan on eating at 7 but your Honey Chicken takes an hour to bake, start heating the oven at 5:30 and be ready to put it in the oven by 6. Got 2 dishes that need the oven, but only have 1 oven? I had that problem with the Popcorn Cauliflower and Honey Chicken dishes. Then I remembered that the cauliflower is very versatile because it tastes great right out of the oven, room temp or cold. Honest! I made the cauliflower late in the afternoon so that the oven was free in the early evening to cook the chicken, which needed to be served warm.

Clean after, not before AND after

Ok, so you don’t want your guests to see your dirty socks on the floor or cup of tea sitting on the coffee table from earlier that morning, but why vacuum and mop if you know you’re going to have to do it again after the guests leave? More people + cooking + chopping + eating + drinking = more mess. Tidy up? Absolutely. But save the back breaking, labor intensive and time consuming cleaning for after the guests leave. One thing you should be sure to clean before guests arrive – all of your dirty dishes. Make sure the dishwasher is empty before the guests arrive so that clean up can be done on the spot as the table is cleared for the next course. Your dishwasher should be full and running as soon as the last guest closes your front door.

Entertaining is a lot of fun. Staying in with good company, a good bottle of wine and some great food is my favorite kind of “night out”. Who needs to go to restaurants with who-knows-what added into your food, loud music, smokey bars and over priced drinks when you can stay in, eat a healthy but tasty meal, and not be rushed out as soon as the check arrives?

This is one of my favorite meals to prepare – it’s quick, easy, I usually have all of the ingredients already in my fridge (saves time on making an extra trip to the grocery store) and I can make it for vegetarians, vegans and carnivores – all at the same time! Efficient, healthy and a great deal!

This dish was actually introduced to me as a young girl at one of my best friend’s houses one evening, back when I still ate chicken. My mother quickly learned of this recipe and it has been a staple in our home ever since. I think the reason my mom loved it so much was because she had four young kids, and having four kids meant 4 different sets of taste buds. It was nearly impossible for all 6 of us agree on a movie growing up let alone a meal we all liked! For starters, some wouldn’t eat meat on the bone and others were vegan. Today, all 6 of us are vegans or vegetarians, but when we were all growing up, my mom definitely had her work cut out for her! The point of this tangent is that you can substitute the chicken in this dish for any other source of protein depending on your dietary preferences. My favorites are salmon and tofu. Carnivores and vegans can dine together with ease!

The quantities in the recipe are for 8 organic chicken legs and either 4 organic chicken thighs or 2 organic chicken breasts. Substitute with salmon or tofu as you see fit and don’t worry – you can’t have too much sauce!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons organic ketchup (I like OrganicVille Ketchup - gluten free and no added sugar) 

1 cup organic honey

Salt, pepper and garlic to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients together

Lay chicken or other protein in pan

Pour sauce over the protein, making sure each piece is well coated (the chicken / fish/ tofu should sit comfortably in the sauce, but not be too saturated)

Cook for a 1 – 1.5 hours (for chicken) or about 30 minutes for fish and tofu depending on thickness – I like to flip the chicken and tofu half way through to make sure both sides are evenly cooked.

While your protein is cooking, throw some quinoa in your rice cooker, steam some broccoli or another green veggie of your choosing and water sauté some chopped peppers and onions on the stove. Combine sauteed veggies and quinoa. 

Place protein on top of quinoa with steamed greens on the side. Pour some of the leftover sauce onto the quinoa! Dinner is served!