Vegetable Wild Rice with Orange Zest (Copy)

This was an absolutely delicious grain bowl packed with flavor, protein, and beautiful colors. I used the zest of an orange which gave this bowl a punch of flavor like no other. #eattherainbow

This dish makes for a great side paired with your protein of choice, or for your main over a bed of greens topped with an avocado. Either way, this grain bowl was incredibly delicious and nourishing.

The wild rice gives this dish a great structure, texture, and full bodied flavor. Plus it holds a higher amount of protein and fiber than that of your typical brown or white rice.

If you don’t have all the ingredients, you can easily improvise as shown below! Make this bowl your own :)

Ingredients:

2 cups of Long Grain Wild Rice (I use Lundberg)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of golden raisins (sub: raisins, craisins, or dried apricots)

1 1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1 1/2 cup of chopped celery

1 small yellow onion

1 cup of fresh parsley (sub: cilantro would also be delicious)

1 cup of chopped almonds (sub: chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts)

Zest from an orange

Prep:

1. In a cast iron skillet (totally worth the investment especially if you are working with grains often!) or a medium saucepan, cook your long grain brown rice. I make it with vegetable stock! This rice typically takes about 45-50 minutes to cook fully.

2. In a medium skillet, sauté the onions with olive oil, carrots, and celery with a sprinkle of salt. Add a cover and turn the heat to low until the carrots cook through. Add golden raisins and orange zest and let the flavors cook and merge together for one minute. Remove from heat and set the sautéed mixture aside.

3. When the rice is fully cooked, stir in the sautéed mixture followed by parsley and chopped almonds. Salt to taste and serve!

Chickpea Quinoa bowl with Cilantro Lime Dressing (Copy)

If you haven’t noticed colorful nutritious bowls have been getting me through this quarantine…they’re easy, healthy, and always turn out beautiful.

This quinoa salad reminded me of summer. We had it this weekend while enjoying the sunshine.

I was originally going to use black beans, but realized I didn’t have any when I went to make the salad. Chickpeas came to the rescue! As a vegetarian I always have cans of beans ready to go…chickpeas are one of my favorite legume. They’re rich in protein and fiber which will help keep you full. They serve as one of the main sources of protein in this bowl. Not to mention they have give this salad a delicious buttery and nutty flavor!

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa

1 can of chickpeas

1 corn on the cob (boiled)

Pumpkin Seeds

For the cilantro lime vinaigrette

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 chopped red onion

1/4 cup of olive oil

Lime juice from 1 lime (or 3 teaspoons of lime juice)

1 chopped jalapeño

Salt and Pepper

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Prep

Much of why I love this grain salad is because the prep is super easy. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Cook your quinoa with vegetable stock. I made 1 1/2 cups and used about 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring the stock and quinoa to a boil, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for about 25 minutes. Do not mix so the quinoa holds its shape!

2. In a small saucepan, boil water with salt. Add corn on the cob and cook in boiling water for 7 minutes. Cut the corn off of the cob and set aside.

3. Make the vinagrette: in a medium size bowl stir together olive oil, red onion, cilantro, finely chopped jalapeño (I only kept a few of the seeds), lime juice, cumin, salt, and pepper until all ingredients are mixed together.

4. Once the vegetable stock evaporates, add chickpeas, and corn. Mix well and then add your vinaigrette!

5. This quinoa salad goes great with sour cream on top, in a wrap, over chopped romaine lettuce for a By Chloe vibe, in a wrap, or in a lettuce cup.

   You can sprinkle pumpkin seeds on before serving. I tried all of the above variations as this made about 5 servings! Have fun eating this salad in many different forms :)