{"id":28139,"date":"2012-06-01T13:09:21","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T17:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthygreenkitchen.com\/?p=28139"},"modified":"2021-09-24T17:04:38","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T21:04:38","slug":"one-simple-change-eat-a-variety-of-foods-plus-quinoa-with-sauteed-grapes-avocado-and-brie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthygreenkitchen.com\/one-simple-change-eat-a-variety-of-foods-plus-quinoa-with-sauteed-grapes-avocado-and-brie\/","title":{"rendered":"One Simple Change: Eat a Variety of Foods (Plus Quinoa with Sauteed Grapes, Avocado, and Brie)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Friday everyone! I am sorry it’s been so quiet around here lately. I’ve been really busy “offline” wrapping up some projects so I can get to work on a new one I’ll tell you about very soon. Also, my son is being Bar Mitzvah’ed in 3 weeks and our family has had lots to do to prepare. We’re having a big outdoor party here afterwards so we’ve been very hard at work getting the yard and garden into good shape (I’ll show you some pictures soon).<\/p>\n

Anyway, as today is<\/em> Friday, I want to follow up on last week’s One Simple Change<\/a> post about Eating a Balanced Diet<\/a>, and talk about the importance of eating a variety of foods<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Do you eat the same thing for breakfast every day, week in and week out? How about lunch? If so, it\u2019s my hope that this post will get you to change your ways a bit. I am of the opinion that eating the same foods each and every day can be problematic, no matter how healthy you believe those foods to be. For one thing, repetitively eating certain foods may cause you to develop sensitivities to those foods. Also, you are more likely to get bored of a whole foods diet if you always eat the same things.<\/p>\n

I think the best way to avoid developing food sensitivities and stave off dietary boredom is to eat a wide variety of foods. Alternating different fruits and vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and protein foods (including dairy) each day (or at least every couple of days) also ensures that you take in a wide variety of nutrients.<\/p>\n

Am I saying that you should not eat wholesome dinner leftovers for lunch the next day? No. Not at all: in fact, I don\u2019t want you to stop doing anything that helps you eat well and makes your life easier. <\/p>\n

I just want to point out that if you are accustomed to eating cereal with milk for breakfast every day and\/or a turkey sandwich for lunch every day and an apple for a snack every day, you should consider changing things up. <\/p>\n

Why not try to eat as many different colored foods as you can (and I hope you know I don’t mean you should eat foods like Fruit Loops)? Buy a fruit or vegetable you’ve never had before and see if you like it. Visit your local natural foods store and make up some bags of all different grains and legumes to try from the bulk food aisle. Cook up a dish from a cuisine you don’t know much about and taste a new herb or spice. If you like to bake, experiment with different flours other than wheat. See how you like (natural) sweeteners: there are so many to choose from! Eat various nuts and seeds- again, there are so many! If you eat animal protein, then be adventurous and open to trying something new: I spent my whole life avoiding lamb because I thought I hated it, but last year I discovered I actually enjoy it very much. <\/p>\n

So what does all this have to do with this quinoa dish? <\/p>\n

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My busy-ness as of late has meant a lack of new recipes for you all. Boo. Not that I didn’t try- last weekend, I put beautiful strawberries to use in not one, but two recipe that I was hoping to post, but somehow those recipes both turned out to be duds. This does happen…but more boo. <\/p>\n

This quinoa dish, however, was a winner, and it keeps well so it was a lunchtime lifesaver a couple of days this week, too. If you’ve never tried quinoa, what are you waiting for? One cooked cup of this gluten free seed has more than 10 grams of protein, and it’s delicious to boot. If you don’t have the ingredients for this version (or if it simply doesn’t appeal to you), try a similar one with chopped tomato, cucumber, red pepper, and feta.<\/p>\n

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More quinoa salads that look terrific to me:
\nWarm Spinach Salad with Quinoa from Gluten Free Goddess<\/a>
\nBlack Quinoa Salad with Mango, Avocado, and Tomatoes from Two Peas and Their Pod<\/a>
\nToasted Quinoa, Corn, and Avocado Salad from Ezra Poundcake<\/a>
\nThai Style Black Quinoa Salad from Closet Cooking<\/a>
\nBlack Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables, Basil, and Feta from Healthy Green Kitchen<\/a>

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Quinoa with Sauteed Grapes, Avocado, and Brie<\/h2>\n
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Do you ever gaze inside your refrigerator a few days after food shopping and marvel at how there's pretty much nothing to eat? I'm a little embarrassed to tell you how often that's been happening around here lately, but usually, after I look a little deeper, I realize I can come up with something. That's the story behind this combination of quinoa, almonds, grapes, avocado and brie: it's a little random, I know, but it's also really tasty ;)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Prep Time<\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time<\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time<\/span>25 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>4<\/span> servings<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n