Lazy, dead easy lunch: Quinoa fried rice

I'm on a three week break, and today is the first official day. I was feeling lazy for lunch, and thought of what I could find in the pantry. I'm sure everyone has those days; you just fish out whatever you can find in the fridge: leftovers, frozen fish, frozen veggies because you're just too lazy to whip up something that requires too much dish-washing and chopping. So, I decided to make a simple, yet nutritious lunch!

There's still the quinoa craze around, and I only discovered it last year. As a supergrain, it is full of amino acids that we need (we are what we eat!), it contains more fibre than most other grains which means = feeling fuller for longer = win win for over-eaters like me. And it's really easy and quick to cook. For every 1 cup of quinoa, cook it with 2 cups of water. Cook until it has absorbed all the water, roughly 15-20 minutes?

So, a simple quinoa meal that you can take to work, or eat lazily at home is quinoa fried rice.

A lot of people argue that it's really hard to eat healthily, as it is expected to only eat 'carrots and celery sticks'. I say, NO, eating healthily can be as creative and delicious as you want. Remember the oat banana bread that has absolutely no refined sugar, butter or oil I made? Although, it may seem sort of ironic that I'm raving about healthy food, because this is a blog that mainly focuses on desserts, (sometimes outrageously fattening like the Baked brownie. p.s I use too many parentheses), I believe that you can have a treat every now and then. One slice of cake does not make you fat. However, if you eat one whole chocolate cake like the boy in Mathilda in that infamous scene, or a huge slice everyday, you're harming your body and consequently put on more weight.

So just dig up any left overs like meat, vegetables etc and using frozen vegetables are really convenient too! 

Quinoa fried rice

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water 

2 eggs 

Small strips of bacon or ham

1 onion, diced into cubes 

1 red capsicum, sliced into small pieces

Bunch of mushrooms, sliced

Small handful of green beans, chopped 

Frozen vegetables (peas, corn etc. Doesn't have to be thawed, but it would be easier to cook faster)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

Method

1. Thoroughly wash the quinoa before using, to get rid of the as the saponin covers the seeds, and needs to be rinsed to get rid of it. Otherwise, you will have bitter quinoa. Once thoroughly rinsed, put it in a pot and combine with 2 cups of water. Cook until all of the water has absorbed, about 10-20 minutes, depending on how high your heat is. 

2. Heat a large pan with about 2 tablespoons of oil (I used sunflower). Fry the 2 eggs, but don't over cook it. Once done, put the eggs aside on another plate and slice them into strips.

2. Add another tablespoon of oil, and cook the onions until slightly brown. Add the bacon or ham. 

3. Then add the red capsicum, mushrooms and the frozen vegetables. 

4. Add the quinoa and mix in the soy sauce and fish sauce. Stir to get an even coating of the sauce.

5. Add the eggs, and cook the fried rice for another minute or two. 

Healthy banana bread

 Banana bread can be healthy. It really can. Just take a look at my Greek yoghurt banana bread. But hey, this is even a more healthy recipe! There is absolutely no butter, oil or refined sugar. It uses applesauce and honey. Honey can replace white sugar or brown sugar in banana bread quite well, in my opinion. It's all good.

My oldest sister really enjoyed this banana bread. I quote her "This does not taste healthy at all!"

Apple cinnamon muffins

My parents came home from the market, and they bought two whole bags of apples. Hm how about some apple pie, apple crumble, apple pancakes or what about apple muffins?

 There is not a smidge of butter, but there is a tiny bit of oil. I don't miss the butter here. The muffin gets its moist texture from the oil and the applesauce! The topping consists of nuts, cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar.

Pear, walnut and fig salad

I'm going on a detox. Well 99% of the time, that usually fails. But I am going to try my best to stay away from sweets. That means, no eating my baked treats. Or just restricting myself to 1 single piece of whatever I bake. It never ends well when I bake a whole tray of brownies, and I'm in the kitchen by myself.

Avocado pasta

Simple, tasty and nutritious. Could those words appeal to anyone any better? 

It's a Friday night, and normally I would go out for dinner with my parents or takeaway Subway. But I opted out for something simple. Avocado pasta.

I know what some of you  might be thinking (for example, my parents). GREEN PASTA? WHAT IN THE WORLD? SIMPLE? 

But this literally takes minutes to make. '15 minutes' the recipe says. All it is is blending avocado, garlic, lemon, boiling some pasta and voila! 

It is so creamy, the texture you would normally get from a creamy pasta that has lots and lots of cream. But like one of my previous posts, I said that avocados has plentiful of benefits! If this pasta is too vegetarian for you, you can add some meat or whatever you desire like mushrooms, tomatoes etc. I would've liked to add some onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. Maybe even some chicken, but I was too lazy!

15 minute avocado pasta

Adapted from Oh she glows

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 1-3 garlic cloves, to taste 
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup Fresh Basil, (optional)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta (I used wholemeal penne)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.