Orange Quinoa with Cranberries

This dish turned out to be a nice surprise! Crunchy and nutty, with the essence of orange and the tang of cranberries. It was fairly quick to make and provides loads of protein. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH) contains more high quality protein than any other grain. This recipe originally called for turkey breast cooked with Asian marinade. Since I've given up meat and most dairy, I decided to used Tempeh in place of the turkey. Tempeh is also high in protein. This package contained 36 grams; combined with the quinoa and pecans, this dish contained 63 grams of protein.

This particular Tempeh is a soybean, millet, brown rice and barley loaf that's slightly crunchy and gives this dish a great texture. The cranberries, pecans and orange juice add wonderful flavor variations. Yum, yum, yum, this is my new favorite.

Orange Quinoa with Cranberries and Pecans

• 1-3/4 Cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup orange juice
• 1 Cup quinoa
• 1/4 Cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 Cup unsalted pecans, chopped
• 1/4 Cup parsley, chopped
• 1 package Tempe (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Soy sauce

In a large saucepan, bring broth and salt to a boil. Add juice and quinoa, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is simmering, cut your Tempeh into 3/4 inch chunks, then saute in hot oil until brown.

Flip and brown on other side. Shake 1 to 2 tablespoons of soy sauce onto the inside of the pan and tilt to coat all the Tempeh. Cook until all is absorbed. Take pan off burner and set aside.

Soak cranberries in 1 cup hot tap water until softened then squeeze out excess liquid, chop and set aside. Toast your chopped pecans for five minutes in a small skillet on medium low heat until fragrant and golden, being careful not to burn them.

Check your quinoa to make sure its done (should look translucent), fluff with a fork, add the cranberries, pecans, tempeh (or turkey) and parsley, toss and serve. Lovely!

Oatmeal Nuggets

I am dieting - always. And I've been pretty good about it the last few weeks, but the cravings got to me yesterday. This recipe seemed a little less fattening that the traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I gave it a try last night. No sugar, just bananas to sweeten (well except for the sugar in the chocolate!), no butter, just coconut oil, and no white flour, just rolled oats and oat flour. I was worried they would completely flatten when they cooked but, lo and behold, they kept their shape perfectly, as you can see above. Chewy and a bit crisp. Delightful little nugget.

Oatmeal Chip Nuggets

• 1-1/2 cups well mashed, very ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed so its not solid (or another veg oil)
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2/3 cup almond meal (or oat flour works well too)
• 1/3 cup coconut, unsweetened, shredded
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6 oz carob or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mash the banana then add vanilla and coconut oil. In separate bowl mix the dry ingredients, then add all to the banana mixture.

Combine, then fold in chips.

Scoop out bite sized drops (about the size of golf ball) onto a parchment or other non stick baking surface. Bake 15 minutes, then check. I actually let mine go 18 to 20 minutes so they would be brown on bottom and getting crunchy on the outside. They are so moist inside that if you take them out too early, they don't have a nice mixture of crunch and softness.