Quinoa

Color me telepathic, but I have a sneaking suspicion you could use an easy meal using mostly pantry ingredients. 

Sometimes we need cooking to be the easiest thing we’ve done all day or could simply use a win, and this vegan black bean sweet potato skillet is exactly that!

Incorporating basic ingredients you likely already have on hand, you’ll likely not even need to leave the house to make this beauty happen.

Bonus points: this recipe makes a TON of food – great for feeding the whole family or for meal prepping.

Bonus points, the sequel: You can make all sorts of changes to this meal based on what you have on hand!

This colorful, nutritious meal includes sweet potato, black beans, quinoa, bell pepper, onion, garlic, salsa and chili powder. The end result? A hearty meal that’ll tickle the tongue buds and make you feel satisfied.

The best part? This vegan Mexican inspired meal is so easy to prepare. Let’s talk about it!

Vegan Pumpkin Chili with black beans and quinoa is a hearty meal perfect for fall and winter. This meatless chili is easy to adapt using your favorite vegetables and beans.

Made with pureed pumpkin, black beans, quinoa, bell peppers, and diced tomatoes, this easy vegan chili recipe is filling, packed with nutrients and flavor, and is so easy to prepare in your crock pot! 

 I take the ‘set it and forget it’ approach to chili most of the time, rather than preparing it on the stove top. I find slow cooking chili is not only convenient (you literally just dump every last ingredient into your crock pot, go to work, and come home to a fabulous dinner), but it also results in a mega flavorful meal. Because the flavors cook together for so long, the result is completely mouth watering!

Two secret ingredients that make this recipe pop are a touch of pure maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. The pure maple syrup offsets the acidity from the tomatoes and spice from the bell peppers and chili powder, while the pumpkin pie spice adds marvelous unique warm flavors. 

Perfect for fall, winter, and beyond!

Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Quinoa is a nutrient-dense meal for when you’re craving something clean, or a marvelous side dish for the family.

Do you ever find yourself eyeballs deep in a massive craving for foliage?

Truth be told, my cravings are almost always centered around veggies.

This roasted sweet potato kale salad (or bowl, if you will) with quinoa, hemp seeds, and honey mustard dressing is one of those recipes you can default to when you’re feeling..

a.) A need for something green and light

b.) Low on vitamins and complex carbs

c.) Something crunchy!

d.) A big bowl of superfood that takes you time to power your way through

This super simple bowl is embarrassingly easy…to the extent that I almost didn’t post it. But after a conversation with my brother’s girlfriend when we both were jonesing for something big, fresh, and light yet filling, I whipped up this bowl and it was just what we needed. Sometimes those silly easy recipes are all you need for inspiration. 

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad with roasted sweet potato, carrots, butternut squash, walnuts, and maple-cider vinaigrette. This colorful, hearty salad is a marvelous side dish for fall and winter.

This post is sponsored by Thrive® Culinary Algae Oil.

One of my favorite side dishes to make in bulk and share this time of year is a hearty quinoa salad. Starchy winter vegetables roasted to perfection and mixed in with quinoa, nuts, and fresh herbs is all-things nutritious, inviting, and filling.

If you’re already on the prowl for recipes to make and share over the holiday season, this one’s a keeper! It’s so easy to prepare and is an awesome option when you’re serving guests with dietary restrictions because it is clean as can be.

A warm  shredded brussel sprouts salad with kale, quinoa, crispy bacon, avocado, pear, walnuts, and a warm bacon-cider vinaigrette. This nutritious salad is inviting during the cold weather months.

I created this recipe for The California Avocado Commission. You can skip to the recipe HERE or continue reading.

How do you feel about warm salads? I’ve gotta say, I absolutely love them!

If you’re a salad fiend, you may have noticed raw vegetables can be a bit tough on your digestive system. All it takes is a quick steam or saute to soften up the fibers so that your GI tract processes them easier so that they don’t cause GI upset and the nutrients are better absorbed.

I find lightly sauteed hearty greens like kale and brussel sprouts make for a filling salad that is easy on the digestive system and so cozy and inviting during the fall and winter months. With fall rapidly approaching, I’ll be whipping up warm salads regularly for lunches and dinners.

This salad is loaded with goodies! Shredded brussels sprouts, kale, quinoa, California avocado, sliced pears, and toasted walnuts make up this nutritious texturally-pleasing dish. The whole thing is tied together with a simple bacon-cider vinaigrette for a straightforward yet comforting and nourishing meal.

Essentially, it checks all the boxes!

Mock fried rice jam packed with vegetables and made with quinoa. This healthful side dish (or meal) is easily adaptable and is full of essential nutrients. Lately, I’ve been all about super simple skillet meals. I’ve just been chopping up vegetables and tossing them in the cast iron skillet (or wok) with whatever else sounds …

Light, flavorful pesto quinoa salad with avocado, walnuts, feta cheese, asparagus, and kale. This nutrient-packed dish is perfect for packing up and taking for lunches or to barbecues and picnics. I’ve been on quite the quinoa kick lately (did you check out my Mango Edamame Quinoa Salad a couple of weeks ago?? It’s pretty magical!), …

Light and flavorful quinoa salad with mango, edamame, bell pepper, flaked coconut, roasted almonds, and basil. This super nutritious salad is perfect for summer picnics and barbecues!

This post is Sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Check out more delicious healthy recipes, snag coupons and find stores near you at BobsRedMill.com!

Quinoa and I have been getting along famously lately. I have a tendency to set my sights on a specific food and let that flame just.rage, only coming up for air once I’ve sufficiently quenched that particular thirst. Lately, I’ve been on a quinoa kick, as I’ve been incorporating it into my daily lunch or dinner salad as a trusted source for carbs.

There are few carbs my digestive system enjoys processing, you see, so once I find one that works for my body, I get a little elated. I keep my diet fairly low-carb for health reasons (read more about that here), and my body is very picky about its preferred source of carbs. As it turns out, I process quinoa famously, which is great news because it’s one of those highly nutritious whole foods that’s super easy to incorporate into my daily life.

Nutrient packed detox spinach salad with quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, cashews, bacon, chopped roast turkey, dried cranberries, and orange-ginger dressing. This super flavorful entree salad recipe is sure to satisfy! I just about titled this post “All the Salads Salad,” because (spoiler alert) it is comprised of four different salads. I know, crazy, right? four salads …

Flavorful, aromatic butter chicken made paleo-style! This cleaner version of butter chicken is super easy to prepare! Halloween snuck up on me big time this year! Between the trip to Switzerland, two separate trips to Colorado, and trying to stay on top of the cookbook, the blog, and freelance work in between without losing my …

Savory quinoa breakfast bowls with sauteed bell peppers, onion, and kale, topped with a runny egg and avocado – a well-rounded superfood paleo breakfast to keep you energized and on track throughout the day. This post is sponsored by Thrive® Culinary Algae Oil. In the five years I’ve been blogging, I’ve watched various products and types …

Thanksgiving stuffing (or dressing) made healthy with Indian-spiced lentils, quinoa, parsnips, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, and more! A healthful side dish for your holiday gatherings. This post is sponsored by Pacific Foods. Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I’m sure those of you who are preparing or contributing to a feast this year are already …