This delicious and satisfying meal is full of beautiful colors, textures, and flavors. It incorporates the goodness of quinoa, legumes, and a variety of vegetables, and you get to season it in a variety of ways to your liking.

This meal offers a rich supply of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. It is abundant in vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants and phytonutrients. It is high in fiber, and naturally low in sodium, as well as cholesterol-free. It is versatile, quick, and easy to make, and can suit the needs of the whole family.

Characteristics

TYPE: Meal
PREP TIME: < 15 mins
SERVINGS: makes 2 full meal servings

  • 100% Whole food
  • 100% Plant-based (Vegan)
  • Gluten-free
  • Wheat-free
  • Soy-free
  • Corn-free
  • Peanut-free
  • Nut-free
  • Oil-free
  • Cholesterol-free
  • Refined Sugar-free
  • Isolated Sugar-free

Goodies Needed*

  • 2 cups cooked Organic Red Quinoa
  • 2 cups or 1 package (~ 340g) Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
  • 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Peas
  • 1 Organic Bell Pepper (yellow, or color of your choice)

Potential Seasoning:

TOOLS:

  • Cutting board
  • Stainless steel pan/skillet
  • Utensils
  • Stove

Preparation Steps

  1. If you don’t have any cooked quinoa on hand, begin by cooking the quinoa: 1 cup dry to 1.5 cups water; simmer after the boil for about 12-15 minutes. Here is a complete video guide on how to work with quinoa.
  2. Place a thin layer of water on your pan and begin to heat on a low-medium setting.
  3. Wash/clean your mushrooms, trim the stems, and cut them up into smaller pieces of your choice. Transfer the cut up mushrooms to your pan, cover with a lid and set a timer for 10 minutes.
  4. If you are working with frozen peas, add them to the pan at around the 5-minute mark to thaw and warm appropriately. If you are working with fresh peas, you can also add them at this time, or keep them in the raw form by adding at the end.
  5. Wash your pepper, remove the core and dice up into small chunks.
  6. When your timer goes off at the 10-minute mark, add in the peppers, quinoa (if using cold, pre-cooked), as well as your balsamic vinegar and spices, and stir everything together well. Allow it to stay on the heat for another minute or two. If you are using freshly cooked quinoa, stir it in after you have fully finished your cooking.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Tips:

  • You can add more or less of the quinoa and peas, as desired; the quantities are very flexible, so adjust for your metabolic needs.
  • You can experiment with other vegetables, besides peppers, as you may enjoy. Focus on keeping your fruit vegetables, like the peppers, as raw as possible for maximum nutrient density and integrity.
  • Adjust the spice quantities to your preferences, and experiment with other spices you enjoy.
  • You can also season this meal with any of the sauces shared on the site, like the creamy cashew all-purpose sauce or ones used on other recipes, like the creamy garlic tahini sauce, instead of the potential seasoning provided above.

Meal Nutritional Benefits

Quinoa

  • provides healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and is naturally low in fat
  • provides antioxidants, phytonutrients, and anti-inflammatory benefits
  • provides vitamins, specifically vitamin A, E, and most B vitamins, including folate
  • provides minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, selenium, and iron
  • supports optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • supports healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protects against cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2, and other diseases

Shiitake Mushrooms

  • provide healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are naturally low in fat
  • provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial benefits
  • provide vitamins, especially B vitamins
  • provide minerals, especially copper, selenium, manganese, and zinc
  • support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • support immune function and protect against infections
  • protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, and other diseases
  • for more info, see the Shiitake Mushrooms overview on World’s Healthiest Foods

Peas

  • provide healthy carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are naturally low in fat
  • provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
  • provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, C, K, and most B vitamins
  • provide minerals, especially manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium
  • support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, and other diseases

Bell Peppers

  • provide some carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and are virtually fat-free
  • provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
  • provide vitamins, especially vitamin A, C, E, K, and most B vitamins, including folate
  • provide minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron
  • support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • support healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, infections, and other diseases

Balsamic Vinegar

  • not a significant source of calories, macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein), or vitamins
  • provides phytonutrients and antioxidants
  • provides minerals, specifically potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium
  • support optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • supports healthy digestion, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protects against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes type 2
  • Health Tip: Choose organic and pure balsamic vinegar with no additives for proper health benefits. Choose a high-quality one that has been well-aged.

Turmeric

  • provides some carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and is naturally low in fat
  • provides lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory benefits
  • provides vitamins, especially vitamin C and most B vitamins, including folate
  • provides minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron
  • supports optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • supports healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protects against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, arthritis/rheumatism, Alzheimer’s, infections, and other diseases

Cayenne Chili Pepper

  • not a significant source of calories or macronutrients
  • provide lots of phytonutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and analgesic properties
  • provides vitamins, especially rich in vitamin A, C, K, and some B vitamins, including folate
  • provides minerals, especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium
  • supports optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • supports healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels
  • protects against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes type 2, infections, and other diseases

Unrefined Salt

  • unrefined sea salt unrefined Himalayan salt
  • naturally alkalizing
  • a source of over 80 essential and trace minerals
  • supports optimal blood pressure, heart and nervous system health
  • supports optimal health, weight, healing, and prevention
  • Health Tip: avoid all forms of refined, white salt and processed foods made with it

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