Currently I’m trying not to feel guilty that I haven’t posted in 12 days! I usually try to post a recipe a couple of times a week, but last week was just not one of those weeks. We filmed 9 videos and did a few photo shoots too. One top of that, Lewis had a choir performance in Manchester, Gracey was in a musical performance all week, we had various deliveries of new kitchen appliances, old appliances taken out, boxes EVERYWHERE (and still there now), 2 lots of installation engineers, and Chris had his foot rested up and iced for a couple of days (he couldn’t drive all week, so I was ferrying everyone around, whilst he spent a lot of the time hobbling). By the time we got to the end of the week, I just wanted to sleep. I was literally walking around in a trance, unable to hold a conversation. Chris was pretty much the same, so we agreed to be kind to ourselves and have a couple of days off. Giving yourself a break, I think, is so important when you’re at risk of burnout. To help with that, nutritious, energizing food also helps a lot. When you’re worn out, I usually want nothing more than a big bar of chocolate and a gin and tonic, but really I know that’s just going to make me feel worse. Having a nourish bowl like this for dinner really helps to restore those energy levels (so I can save the chocolate and gin for the weekend!). Are you a quinoa lover or hater? It took me ages to get round to trying it, and I really like it to bulk up salads. I find it tastes better to cook in stock with a pinch of salt and pepper. It absorbs flavours beautifully, so drizzling on a salad dressing (or in this case, the leftover juices from roasting the vegetables) makes it really tasty.
Quinoa is actually a seed (some people argue it’s a grain) that looks a bit like couscous in it’s dried state. Once cooked, it actually has a bit more bite to it than couscous. You cook it the same way you would white rice. I’ve been told it’s got more protein, vitamins and iron and less carbs than rice, so it makes a great replacement for the health conscious among you. If you are a quinoa lover, here a few of my other quinoa recipes:
Warm quinoa and goats cheese salad
The Honey Mustard Trout with Quinoa, Roasted Vegetables and Feta Recipe:
This post was recipe published in April 2014. Updated in February 2019 with new photos, tips and recipe improvements. Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
