Maintaining a social life, boxing, blogging, working and studying full time while taking care of my diet has perhaps been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. Because I am constantly busy, I don’t always have the time to make something healthy every day and, since having to cut out as much gluten from my diet, thinking about what to eat has been causing more harm than good. Since being forced to be creative with my food choices, I have found myself making various kinds of health bowls and stir fry’s during the week which I can conveniently grab and get on with my day. The two I have been making the most however is a crunchy gluten-free goodness bowl & chicken quinoa stir-fry simply because they each take less than 30 minutes to throw together and you only have to wash one pot!
While both start off with the same spice base, they yield very different flavors and textures. The quinoa stir-fry can be eaten both warm and cold while the crunchy bowl is best served warm. I bought most of my ingredients at Organic Touch in Belvedere Square which you can read more about here as I find their prices to be better than most other places. Plus, supporting local businesses is always good!
The base for each dish is essentially everything pictured in the image below but you can change up the quantity or spice or add something else to it!
Simply:
- Braise one finely chopped onion with 1 Tbsp coconut oil.
- For the crunchy bowl, I added spring onion as well and found that it gave the dish a lighter flavor.
- Add 1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic, some salt and a sprinkle of black pepper
- At this point, you can also add either cayenne pepper or 1/2 tsp green chilli chutney (chillies blended with coriander)
- When the onions are browned, proceed to make either of the dishes below.
Chicken quinoa stir-fry Makes enough for 3 people or 3 ‘grab-and-go’ bowls
Ingredients
- 2 Carrots sliced or cubed
- A handful of spinach
- 1/2 Cup sliced mushrooms
- 3 Chicken breasts sliced into strips
- 3/4 Cup quinoa
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy-sauce
- 1/4 cup water
Method
- Boil the quinoa as per package instructions until almost cooked.
- While the quinoa is cooking, add the carrots, mushrooms and chicken breasts to the braised onions and add another tbsp coconut oil
- When the chicken is nearly done, add the soy-sauce and water, by this time, your quinoa should almost be thoroughly cooked through so take it off the heat and add it to the chicken and vegetable mixture.
- Allow everything to cook through add add more soy-sauce if you wish. I love using the range by Vital but any other brand will do.
- When the water evaporates, season with more salt and pepper and top with roughly chopped spinach.
Crunchy gluten-free goodness bowl (pictured above)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp flaked almonds
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp linseeds
- 3 tbsp chopped pecans or walnuts
- half head of steamed cauliflower (feel free to add broccoli as well)
- 2 carrots finely chopped or sliced
- 1/2 cup edamame beans (I buy mine at Woolworths)
- 1/2 cup water
Method:
- Thoroughly rinse a bag of these gluten-free, sugar-free and carbohydrate-free Shirataki Noodles (about R30) before preparing as per instructions. There are about 4 variants in these noodles and while either would work in this recipe, you have to make sure that you rinse them really well.
- Add the vegetables and water to the onion mix and let them cook for a bit.
- Place the noodles in a hot pan and dry fry for maximum 2 minutes and, when done, add them to the vegetable mix.
- You can do as I did above and add chicken or even prawns to this dish as it will make it go further and keep you satisfied for longer however, be sure to add it to the vegetable mix and allow it to cook finish before adding these noodles.
Enjoy and be sure to let me know if you make them!
X
Fatima