Indian Spiced Kohlrabi and Quinoa Salad for Eat. Live. Be.Monday

Ingredients

1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
3 3/4 cups water, divided
2 kohlrabi, tops removed, stems discarded and leaves chopped
2 green onions
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Sunflower seeds (optional)

Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 to 2 Tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground dry mustard

Directions

1. Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a small pot of salted boiling water; add lentils, cover and reduce heat to simmer, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in kohlrabi tops until wilted, about 1 minute.  Drain lentils and tops and pour into a medium bowl to cool. Meanwhile, rinse quinoa in fresh water several times and drain through a fine mesh sieve.

2. Add 3/4 cup water to original pot and bring to a boil.  Add quinoa, reduce heat and cover; cooking to package directions (about 15 minutes).  Meanwhile, dice kohlrabi and onions and add to bowl with cooled lentil mixture.  Once quinoa is finished cooking, uncover and set aside to cool.

3. Whisk dressing ingredients together.  Add cooled quinoa to lentil and kohlrabi mixture, season with salt and pepper and gently stir in cilantro and dressing. 

4. Top with optional sunflower seeds.

Nutrition Facts
***4 WW Pts Plus (not including sunflower seeds)
6 1-cup Servings


Amount Per Serving
Calories 148.1
Total Fat 5.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.4 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 29.1 mg
Potassium 125.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 20.2 g
Dietary Fiber 5.7 g
Sugars 4.2 g
Protein 5.2 g

Vitamin A 3.7 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 2.6 %
Vitamin C 74.2 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 3.5 %
Calcium 1.9 %
Copper 3.6 %
Folate 10.5 %
Iron 13.2 %
Magnesium 2.8 %
Manganese 8.9 %
Niacin 1.6 %
Pantothenic Acid 1.5 %
Phosphorus 16.8 %
Riboflavin 30.3 %
Selenium 1.1 %
Thiamin 2.7 %
Zinc 2.3 %

Eat. Live. Be. for a better 2011

This week’s Eat. Live. Be. topic is; our favorite healthy change and how it’s helping us to better our lives.


This is a tough one for me because it’s not as if I made a New Years resolution to start working out and eating healthier. So let me think. There are three changes I’ve made that are my favorites.


1. Finding and joining my CSA. I love that I’m getting new veggies I would never have found in my grocery store, that everything is so fresh, that I know who the farmers are and that I can expose my daughter to what farming should be. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if neighborhoods were all centered around a community farm and everyone took part in it? People could help with planting and harvesting, holding farmers markets or donating funds. In return, they would get fresh, organic vegetables and meats and the farmers would be well compensated for all their hard work. The way things are going now I find that the majority of people know so little about where their food comes from they have no idea what they are putting in their bodies. On top of this, most folks don’t seem to like change. They don’t want to LEARN about where their food comes from because they are afraid they might have to change what or how they eat. As a result our population is becoming more and more obese and our children will not live as long as we will. Why are parents not concerned about this???? I have one more thing to say on this topic. I am very disappointed in President Obama right now for approving genetically modified alfalfa. I know human scientists think they have nature figured out and that they can improve on what Mother Nature has already provided but, I’m sorry, they can’t, and we’re going to have to learn it the hard way apparently. Anyway, I digress…..


2. Weight Watcher’s new plan! I love that it promotes us moving to more fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grain breads. On top of this positive point, it’s actually working for me again. When I was on it previously and lost weight I had time to work out three times a day. Now, with a toddler and working at a job where I sit on my @ss all day, the majority of weight loss has to come from diet and what I was allowed on WW previously (18 points) was not cutting it. I was SO hungry all the time. The fact that I now reach for 0 point fruit over something processed, such as a Fiber One bar that used to have the same number of points as a banana is working. It’s a slow process but I can eat the foods I want, nothing is off limits, and I can really enjoy myself a few times a week with, say, wine and desserts.


3. Adding a little cardio. I confess that I’m not a cardio lover. I love power yoga. I love weights. I do NOT love cardio. BUT, my gym got new machines and one of them happens to be a Precor 100i and it’s actually sort of fun. If you run it almost feels like you are running underwater if you add some tension, you can use your arms, you can step up and down or go backwards. There is a heart monitor so I can make sure I’m in my target heart rate for fat burning and there is a TV so I can watch the Food Network and get recipe ideas.