tumblewee

I don’t know if I could ever top Diana’s Lifesave Smoothies Meg posted last week!  Soooo good, but here’s a little something, something I’ve been into lately . . .

Serves 4-6 people:

Quinoa Patty & Roasted Harvest Veggie Salads

I like making the patties this way cause you incorporate a little egg and some cheese for a pretty wholesome, full of protein main course.  I use herbs to give them extra flavor because I typically go completely without extra salt and pepper.  I’ve found that Jax loves the Quinoa this way.  I do the three parts: prepping the salad, the veggies, and the Quinoa all in tandem.    I typically buy most of my stuff at Trader Joe’s.  They have really good prices for organic produce, especially the sweet potatoes and baby tomatoes.

Start by prepping the veggies:

Preheat oven to 350.

Dice 2-3 sweet potatoes, toss them in a little olive oil, and add about 1/2 a tsp of cinamon.  Then toss them on a pan and roast them in the oven for about 15-30 mins till tender.

Dice zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots and toss them with olive oil.  Then toss on a pan and roast for about 15 mins till tender.

Once those are cooked and tender, pull out and set aside.

To make the Quinoa (yields about 10 medium sized patties):

Follow the directions on your bag of quinoa.  Typically it’s a ration of 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups of water, simmered for 12-20 minutes.  However, I add about 1/2 a cup extra of water, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the quinoa is cooked, let it cool then place it in a bowl (or if it’s cooled completely and the pan is not hot use that), and add the following:

• 3 Large eggs
• 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I usually use the Mexican style shredded cheese that comes in the bag already shredded)
• 3 tablespoons of parsley
• dash of salt, dash of pepper (I go really light on these cause of Jax and I’m definitely the healthier – especially with the salt)
• 1tsp of garlic
• 1/2 tsp of onion powder

Mix it all together.  Meanwhile, add about a tablespoon of butter to hot skillet.  Grab a handful of the Quinoa mix and make a patty (this is kind of awkward.  I try to mold it in my hand a little, but then shape it in the pan immediately after I drop it in).  Cook each side ’til golden brown on medium-low heat.

Dice when slightly cooled.

Rinse and lightly chop some spinach – about 4-6 cups.

To Plate:

Put the spinach in a bowl, throw some of the Quinoa and roasted veggies on top, and serve with balsamic vinegar (I also like using Apple Cider vinegar) and olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste if you’d like, since it’s very lightly seasoned for Jax!

FOR YOUR WEE ONE: dice the Quinoa, and plate some of the sweet potato and veggies (such as the zucchini).  Good for 9 months and up (from my experience).

Hope you like it!  Feel free to make substitutions as needed.  These were just my solutions.  If you have any feedback or good suggestions feel free to leave us a comment!

ENJOY! ash

Filed under: Children, Family, Food, Monday Meals, Parenting tips | Tagged: breakfast, food, getting kids to eat healthy, health, healthy, kids, monday meals, Quinoa, Sweet Potatos, Trader Joe's, tumblewee, veggies | 2 Comments »