Tag: avocados

Quinoa-Avocado Salad with Black Beans and Salsa

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This is my new summer favorite vegan dish! It is simple and quick to make – and it uses some of my favorite ingredients: avocado, quinoa and black beans. It is perfect for hot summer nights when you don’t want to cook over a hot stove. It is great for left-overs too (in fact, I like it cold). Again, all these ingredients can be found at Aldi which makes this a reasonably priced and quick vegan meal that your whole family will enjoy!

This dish can be found on page 44 of “One Dish Vegan” and it serves about 4. It usually takes me about 20 minutes or less. For mine I like to substitute black beans for the pinto beans. Enjoy!

Quinoa-Avocado Salad with Black Beans and Salsa

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • salt
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto or black beans or 1 (15.5 oz) can of pinto or black beans – rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup tomato salsa (our favorite is Newman’s Own Peach Salsa)
  • 2 ripe Hass avocados, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (opt)
  • 2 scallions, minced (opt)
  • Juice and zest of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp. lime juice)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Torn mixed salad greens for serving (opt)

Directions:

  1. Place water in a saucepan, add 1/2 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, return to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl to cool. (I like to pop the bowl into the refrigerator until the other ingredients are ready to add).
  2. Add the beans and salsa to the the bowl, and toss to combine. Add the avocados, cilantro, scallions, lime juice and zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
  3. If serving as a salad: arrange the salad greens on plates, top with the quinoa-bean mixture and serve.

Quick Burrito Bowls

Who doesn’t like to get a quick bite at Chipotle for some yummy Mexican? I was looking for more ways to use my 49 cent avocados from Aldi and I thought – how about a burrito bowl? We really enjoy their burrito bowls with beans, rice, lettuce and chorizo (plant-based protein). I’ve run across a few recipes that are really delicious and quick to make when we are craving Mexican. Our new favorite is the vegan burrito bowl, taken from Forks over Knives. I’ve added some of our customizations in italics.

Vegan Burrito Bowl

Vegan Burrito Bowl

By Heather McDougall. Serves 2 – 4 Ready in 30 minutes or less (depending on the use of pre-cooked beans, grains and chips).

Ingredients:

  • Baked tortilla chips (see notes)
  • 2 – 4 cups of cooked grains (see notes)
  • 2 – 4 cups chopped romain lettuce or steamed kale
  • 2 – 4 chopped tomatoes
  • 1 – 2 chopped green onions (opt.)
  • 1 – 2 cups corn kernels (see notes)
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • Fresh salsa (our favorite is Newman’s Own Peach Salsa)
  • Vegan sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Break a handful of the chips into pieces in the bottom of each serving bowl.
  2. Spoon some of the cooked grains over the chips followed by some of beans, then layer on the rest of the toppings: lettuce or kale, tomatoes, onions (if using), corn, and avocado. Top with the salsa and a spoon full of vegan sour cream if desired.

Notes:

Chips: Read labels carefully to find baked chips without added fat, or make your own chips from soft corn tortillas: Cut them into wedges, spritz with water, and bake at 300 degrees until crisp.

We found some great healthy chips like these Veggie and Flaxseed Corn Tortilla chips from Aldi (right). We also really like the organic blue corn chips from Meijer. You can find a variety of options in the health health food aisle of your local grocery store. Make sure to check the nutrition label for added sodium and fat.

Grains: If you have leftover cooked grains and beans in your refrigerator, this can be a really fast meal. We like to use the Simply Nature Seven Grain pre-cooked blend from Aldi or the Birdseye Protein Blends Southwest Style (does contain a small amount of skim milk – see packages ingredients below).

Beans: You can slow-cook your own beans, cook them in a pressure cooker in a fraction of the time, or use canned beans (we like organic black beans from Aldi).

Chorizo: We found this Loma Linda Chorizo (plant based protein) at our local grocery store and gave it a try (see below). It isn’t bad – but it was saltier and not as light as Chipotle. Give a try if you want the feel of meat in your burrito bowl.

Burrito Bowl with Chorizo

Corn: I usually use frozen organic corn kernels thawed under cold running water until tender and then drained well.

Vegan Sour Cream: We found that we liked Tofutti vegan sour cream as a toping (pictured below) – available from Whole Food and some other food stores.

This recipe is very flexible and may be different every time you make it depending on the ingredients you have on hand. Enjoy experimenting with it and let your kids pick and choose what they want in their burrito bowl.

Avocados for Breakfast?

Yes, you heard me right. Not only are avocados a healthy alternative to eggs – they are also full of many nutrients and will stay with you all morning long! While I was preparing this simple avocado toast, I noticed that gold medal olympic skater, Tara Lapinsky, included it as a healthy breakfast option during her “ways to stay healthy” segment on the Today show! Here is the video giving her health and fitness tips!

Avocados are packed with great nutrition!
Avocados are packed with great nutrition!

According to CaliforniaAvocado.com a single serving (about 1/3 of a medium sized avocado) contains 80 calories and 8 grams of fat. “They contribute nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, making it a heart-healthy choice to help meet nutrient needs.”  Below is a list of other benefits listed on their website:


NUTRITION FACTS:

  1. Avocados Are a Heart-Healthy, Nutrient-Dense Superfood: Nutrient-dense foods are those that provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients with relatively few calories. One-third of a medium avocado (50 g) has 80 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, making it a great nutrient-dense food choice.
  2. Contains Good Fats: The avocado is virtually the only fruit that contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fat – good fat!
  3. Naturally Sodium-, Sugar- and Cholesterol-Free: California Avocados are naturally sodium-, sugar- and cholesterol-free.
  4. A Unique Fruit: Avocados can act as a “nutrient booster” by helping increase the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, K and E.
  5. Great for Babies and Kids:The avocado’s creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh foods a baby can enjoy.

I was looking for a quick breakfast option that would stay with me all morning and not make me crave sweets all day (like some sweet breakfast cereals do). I tend toward being hypoglycemic so it is important that I start my day with some plant-based protein and fat.

Avocado Toast:

Ingredients: One slice of whole grain bread, one ripe* avocado, lime juice (optional), garlic salt (optional), and nutritional yeast (optional).

  1. Slice a medium sized avocado in half and scoop out the green flesh (cut out and discard any brown areas). In a small bowl, use a fork to mash the avocado into a spread.
  2. If desired, add one squirt (about a 1 tsp.) of lime juice. This amplifies the taste and gives it a nice zing. Add a few shakes of garlic salt or sea salt if desired. Stir together to blend flavors.
  3. Spread the mix onto freshly toasted whole grain bread.
  4. If desired add sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with nutritional yeast** or “Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend” from Trader Joes (you can make your own using this recipe from the food network).

Tips: *You can tell an avocado is ripe when the skin starts turning black – but it is still firm. For extra nutrition I use **Bragg Nutritional Yeast Seasoning available at Kroger and other grocery stores in the health food or specialty aisle. It is used by vegetarians and vegans to get essential vitamins like B-12 that are hard to get in just plants. It tastes good as a substitute for parmesan cheese. Here are the nutrients in it:

Iron2%
Thiamine (B1)180%
Riboflavin (B2)160%
Niacin (B3)70%
Pyridoxine (B6)140%
Folic Acid40%
Vitamin B1240%
Pantothenic Acid30%
Zinc6%
Selenium10%