While dealing with a busy schedule endlessly, it becomes hard to maintain a healthy diet, and sometimes it is even more challenging to plan decent meals for the week.
This week’s healthy meal recipe is ONE PAN MEXICAN QUINOA.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Why this recipe is good for you: It is high in fiber! Fiber helps maintain your metabolism and helps fights chronic diseases. Additionly, eating meals with high amounts of fibers also keeps your blood sugar in check!
As show in the Nutrition Facts, you want to have a meal that is high in protein and with this dinner you have 15.2g of protein per a serving.
Also, do not freak out that there is 57.2g per a serving of Carbohydrates, because there is a good portion of it is fiber (13.7g per a serving in fact) within the serving of carbohydrates. The issue with most dinners, is that they are high in carbohydrates, but do not have enough fiber and protein. By eating meals that are high in carbohydrates, but have low serving of fiber and protein can lead to unwanted weight gain, especially if you are not doing any major lifting workouts. With this meal, you have a well-balanced dinner, and to top it off, it is low on sodium, which helps maintain one’s blood pressure.
