You can’t go wrong with a savory high-protein quinoa bowl!
A quinoa bowl for breakfast? What?! Yeah, that’s what I thought too – until I’ve just tried it! After all, I love to experiment around and last week I was in the mood for a warm but hearty breakfast. Normally I love my different porridge variations or pancakes, but somehow this time it should be something salty and savory.
So, I checked our fridge to see what we still had there and just started cooking. Freestyle-cooking is something I almost do all the time and then usually have to cook it again when it has been approved by everyone involved, so I can save it as a recipe… 🙂 And here it its!
Sounds more complex than it is: Basically, you cook the quinoa, meanwhile you fry the veggies, and prepare the dressing. No rocket science! 🙂
Have fun while cooking!
Equipment
- sieve
- pot
- pan
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 100 g quinoa
- 200 ml water
- ¼ tsp salt
- some pepper ground
- 1/4 tsp cumin ground
Veggies
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 carrot
- ½ head red cabbage fresh (ca. 350 g)
- 1 red onion chopped
- 2 clove garlic chopped
- 1 cm ginger fresh
- 200 g smoked tofu
- 200 g broccoli
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- some salt (not too much), pepper, turmeric, ground dried ginger, ground cumin, ground dried cilantro for seasoning
Dressing
- 1 tbsp tahini
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- some salt and pepper
- 1 handful cilantro fresh, chopped
Instructions
Prepare the quinoa
- Bring your water to a boil in a pot. Meanwhile, put the quinoa grains in a sieve, wash them thoroughly under running water and cook them for about 15 minutes at medium heat until they have absorbed the water. Season with salt, pepper and cumin, mix well and let them cool a little, covered with a lid.
Fry the veggies
- While your quinoa grains are cooking, dice the onion, chop the garlic and ginger, cut your red cabbage into thin strips, the carrot into thin slices and the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Cut the smoked tofu into cubes about 0.5 cm thick.
- Heat a pan with ½ tbsp coconut oil and add the onion, garlic, ginger and smoked tofu. Fry everything for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Season with a little salt, pepper and cumin. Put everything from the pan into a bowl and keep warm.
- Now sauté the red cabbage with the carrot and broccoli together for about 5 minutes in ½ tbsp coconut oil. Season with salt, pepper, turmeric, ground ginger, cumin, ground coriander and soy sauce. Add the sesame seeds and also the first sautéed onions, tofu, etc. and let everything fry for another 5 minutes over medium heat.
Prepare the dressing
- For the dressing, mix the sesame paste (tahini), the juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp of sesame oil and some salt and pepper in a small jar well with a fork.
- Finally, divide half of the quinoa grains and half of the pan contents into two bowls, pour the dressing over each (especially over the quinoa), and sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top. And as always: Enjoy to the fullest!
Nutrients
Pure plant protein!
With 33 g of protein in a bowl, you are already very well-prepared for the day and have already covered a large part of your recommended daily intake of proteins – more *here*! The combination of quinoa, tofu, red cabbage, and broccoli provides you with important amino acids and proteins. In addition, this hearty Quinoa Protein Bowl provides you with lots of antioxidants that protect you from inflammation and support you in the fight against free radicals.
And not only that! You can also expect a real load of fiber, which satiates you for a long time and makes your intestinal flora happy! So it tastes good not only for you but also for your housemates! 😉
Why quinoa?
Quinoa is actually not so long known to us, especially in Europe. Only for a few years, we use the miracle grain more and more in our kitchen. Originally, the quinoa grain comes from the Andes and has been used there for about 5000 years! It was already eaten by the Incas and comes from the amaranth family. You can buy quinoa in different varieties: white, black, red, and puffed. In addition, the grains are gluten-free and are often referred to as “pseudocereals” because we can use quinoa similarly to cereals and other grains.
Quinoa is rich in the amino acids lysine, tryptophan, and cystine and provides and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the grains contain a lot of minerals such as magnesium, iron, manganese, potassium, and calcium. When buying, please look for organic quality and fair trade. Meanwhile, the grains are even grown in Germany!
Quinoa – the all-round pseudocereal
Quinoa is very versatile. So I sometimes put quinoa in my oatmeal, use it as a filling for my eggplants au gratin, or puffed as a topping. You can also prepare it well and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Also, as in my recipe, you should always wash quinoa thoroughly before preparing it. This is because of the bitter compounds called “saponins” contained in the grains. Saponins are natural plant defenses against fungus and pests that are found in the husk. Most of the available quinoa grains are already shelled, but residues from processing can still be found. Therefore, you should make sure to rinse them thoroughly under running water.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner?!
In fact, I can eat the bowl for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes, I make a little more of the dressing, add a handful of lettuce (like in the photo with sprouts), and use the dressing additionally for the salad as well. Super fresh and insanely delicious! In addition, you can also simply pack the ingredients in a wrap. Or generally make wraps out of it and just take it with you – for picnics or to work.
Also, instead of smoked tofu, you can use tempeh or – if you don’t have to take care of gluten – seitan. Depending on what you have at home. That’s why I like bowls so much: I rarely have the same thing in a bowl twice, because I often use leftovers. And don’t forget to enjoy to the fullest!
Have you already seen my other recipes? 😉
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Stay healthy,
xxx Rosa
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