The Iron You

Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole

2013-05-22T04:30:00.000-04:00

If you’re familiar with this blog, you know how much we love quinoa. We already made bread, patties, soup, frittata, more patties, salad and tabbouleh with quinoa. Apparently, quinoa fits in almost any dish we’re cooking. Which got me thinking...maybe I should change the name of the blog from “TheIronYou” to “TheIronQuinoa” or “TheQuinoaYou”. Doesn’t sound bad, at all. I’ll give it a thought.

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In the meantime (I’m still debating with myself whether changing the name or not) I’m making an awesome casserole with quinoa. Lots of spices, lots of veggies, lots of quinoa and a bit of oozing cheese to make you crave. Awesomeness.Basically this is your classic Mexican Turkey (or Chicken) Casserole, minus the meat, plus the quinoa. No joke.

Let’s not forget that quinoa is arguably the best plant-based source of protein. It includes all 9 essential amino acids in adequate quantities. So there’s no missing the meat over here.
If you’re not very fond of quinoa (and you should ask yourself why), this casserole is a good way to hide and make yourself enjoy it. Trust.

Important credit

The folks over at Corazonas recently contacted me for a review of their tortilla chips. They sent some samples of their chips in three different flavors: Lightly Salted, Black Bean and Cheese, and Squeeze of Lime.
Corazonas are different from the other tortillas available on the market because they are infused with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols (over 140 clinical studies show that plant sterols may help naturally reduce cholesterol when consumed at beneficial amounts). I’m normally not very keen on snacking but Corazonas’ health claims spiked my curiosity, thus I decided to give it a-go.
I tried all the flavors and my favorite was (by far) the Black Bean and cheese. They also proved to be the perfect companions for this quinoa casserole. If you are interested in giving them a try head on over to their website.

Chips chips chips chips. I’m showing you my hand dipping a Corazonas Black Bean and Cheese chip into this yummy mountain of Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole goodness, you won’t be disappointed with this combo.

Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole Print this recipe!
Inspired by PinchofYum and adapted from CookingLight

Ingredients
Serves 5

2 cups cooked quinoa (you’ll need about 1 cup / 6 oz / 170 gr of uncooked quinoa)
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 8 oz / 225 gr can tomato sauce
1 medium tomato, diced
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
ground black pepper
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used one red and one yellow)
1 cup / 4 oz / 113 gr Mexican cheese (or sharp cheddar), shredded
handful spring onions

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a 8x8 baking dish.
In a skillet over medium heat add oil, garlic and onion. Saute’ for about 3 minutes.
Add chopped tomato, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and let simmer on low heat for 7 minutes.
In a dry nonstick skillet over medium high heat, toss and toast quinoa with cayenne pepper, chili powder and cumin for 2 minutes. Taste and season with salt. Set aside.
In the same skillet over medium-high heat, place the diced peppers and DO NOT stir. This allows the peppers to get the brown roasted look on the outside. Wait for 2 to 3 minutes before stirring, then let them roast for another 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine tomato mixture, quinoa, ½ of the shredded cheese and ½ of the bell peppers.
Transfer quinoa mixture to baking dish, top with remaining bell peppers and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and garnish with green onions.
Serve with tortilla chips, salad, sour cream or just eat it plain.

Nutrition facts

One serving of this Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole (which is very filling) scores 247 calories, 11.8 grams of fat, 25.8 grams of carbs and 10.4 grams of protein.

Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

2013-05-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

I’m pretty much obsessed with pancakes (who isn’t?). Good thing there’s like a million ways to make them.
This recipe has been my staple breakfast for a while. You might argue that this will never replace “real” pancakes made with butter and white flour; au contraire, they’re just as good.
They fill you up, they taste awesome, they’re nutritionally complete and good for you. Just what a power breakfast should be really about.

I usually whip up the batter when I get up, before going for my morning run (or swim, depending on the day). When I get home I cook the pancakes while I’m showering and getting ready for the day. Yep, I can multitask...

Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes Print this recipe!

Few notes. If you don’t feel like using protein powder sub it with whole wheat flour. Adding sugar is optional, it really depends on how you’re feeling when you wake up. I normally don’t feel there’s the need as the bananas add enough sweetness; but who am I to judge?

Ingredients
Serves 2 (or 1 hungry athlete)

¼ cup / 0.7 oz / 20 gr rolled oats
10 banana slices (about ½ banana)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch fine grain sea salt
1 scoop protein powder (or ¼ cup / 0.88 oz / 25 gr whole wheat flour)
dash of vanilla extract
¼ cup / 50ml milk (soy, almond, hemp or regular)
2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar (optional)

Directions

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, egg and vegetable oil.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick (which might depend on the quality of the protein powder you’re using) whisk in further milk to achieve a pancake-like consistency.
Pour batter onto a lightly greased frying pan and spread with the back of the spoon. Cook on low until golden brown on both sides.
Top with maple syrup, cocoa, pecans, banana, etc.

Nutrition facts

One serving has 157 calories, 4 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein.

What I'm Reading: "Making Supper Safe"

2013-05-19T16:56:00.000-04:00

The topic of food safety is more current than ever before. Over the past few decades, foodborne illness has shifted from being a fairly regionalized threat with the potential to sicken a handful of people in a single outbreak, to a national hazard capable of felling hundreds (if not thousands) of consumers from a single point of contamination.
Food recalls have become so ubiquitous we hardly even notice them. In 2008-2009 the massive salmonella contamination has killed nine people and sickened about 22,500 people. Only few weeks later, a contaminated frozen cookie dough has sent 35 people to the ER. The outbreaks are getting bigger and more deadly. These events are an alarming symptom that there’s something wrong with our food system.

In Making Supper Safe, Ben Hewitt exposes the vulnerabilities inherent to the US food system. The author poses several questions: How can we make our food safe? What are we doing wrong? Are we focusing on the wrong things?
With a very casual and easy to read style Hewitt introduces the reader to the world of processing, packaging, and distributing food in America highlighting some of the major flaws.
One thing emerges as you’re flipping through the pages of this rather interesting book: that we are creating an an ever expanding distance between us and our source of nourishment and that this causes all kind of hazards to our health.
A vibrant cast of characters and scientists who are reinventing our food are introduced to the readers. Some of which are almost unimaginable characters.
At the end of some sections I felt overwhelmed and left with a sense of “Ok, we’re doomed!”.
Even though you can feel that the author’s intention was to provide some understanding to the reader; some stories did touched my chords and I finished the book with a sense of foreboding and resignation; thinking ifis time for me to leave the City and go living a more sustainable life in the country.
Hewitt doesn’t preach, he just present you with a good amount of information. It’s up to the reader to process it and form what her/his opinion.
There is one major problem with this book though: the total lack of references. There are almost no footnotes or bibliography; this ultimately undermines the validity of some of the claims the author makes. You’re left wondering is this for real or it’s fiction? Who knows.
I would have been more inclined to take the author "at his word" if he presented some objective references, and I think omitting those references hurts the credibility of his arguments as a whole.
Even if he’s 100% completely and objectively right about everything he writes, he needs to back up that information with references to give it credibility.
However, as a neophyte to this information, this book proves to be a valid general introduction to the world of food safety. I’m sure there will be time in future to examine in depth the topic and verify the sources.
Ultimately, Making Supper Safe explains why we should worry about our food system but also why there’s still a reason to hope to gain trust in our food again. If you don’t know much about food safety, I strongly recommend you give this book a-go. It’s topic worth exploring.