Quinoa Pasta Greek Yogurt Chicken Mac and Cheese

This is by far the best healthy meal I have ever made/created. Most of the time, my cooking goes something like this: see an inspiration, collect what ingredients I have, throw stuff in, hope it tastes good. I like to experiment and I don't follow recipes very often. When you know what kinds of things taste well together and what adds flavor, you can change recipes to fit your needs. A lot of times I don't have all of the ingredients and I want to make it healthier, so I improvise and experiment. Luckily, my food usually turns out pretty great.

This recipe is so great because it combines health with comfort food. I really love eating healthy, but sometimes we all need a bit of comfort food. With this recipe, you can feel the comfort without feeling guilty.


You can use regular pasta for this dish if quinoa pasta isn't your thing, but I think the quinoa pasta elbows are so good. I use the Ancient Harvest brand, which most grocery stores carry.

Quinoa Pasta Greek Yogurt Chicken Mac and Cheese

Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 cups chicken

1/2 onion

8 oz elbow quinoa pasta (1 box)

2 handfuls spinach

4 oz plain greek yogurt

8 oz 2% shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Lawrys garlic salt

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa pasta as directed and drain
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat

3. Place cubed chicken in skillet and season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt

4. After chicken is browned, add diced onion (you can add more olive oil if needed)

5. After chicken is cooked and onions are translucent (around 10 minutes), add two handful of washed spinach and cook until wilted
6. Add cooked pasta to the skillet

7.Add all of the cheese straight to the skillet and stir

8. Once the cheese is mostly melted, add the greek yogurt and stir

9. Add extra salt and pepper if needed

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!!

High Five For Friday 11/15

This week was kind of a rainy blur. It got down in the low 70s here a couple of days and I could have sworn it was in the 50s. All I wanted to do was snuggle in bed. It snowed back home in KY and I am not one bit sad I missed it. Snow and I, we aren't friends.

{ONE}

I went to the aquarium on Monday with a bunch of friends to celebrate Veteran's Day. The aquarium here is one of the coolest aquariums I have ever seen. The building in itself is something to look at, but it also has a giant saltwater tank that is home to whale sharks and manta rays. There is also a live dolphin show outside over-looking the ocean. I am now an annual passport holder to the aquarium. I got a card with my picture on it any everything. Yep, I'm pretty much the coolest person you know.

{TWO}

I made Quinoa Chili this week and it was so good! I am not a huge chili fan, but this recipe was right up my alley since I'm kind of the quinoa queen. I was in need of a good soup during this rainy week. This recipe makes a HUGE pot, perfect for freezing for easy weeknight meals. 

{THREE}

Last week I talked about how our trip to Thailand was all booked. It was a rather stress-free ordeal. We decided we were going and I had everything booked within 2 days. I didn't have much time to sit and stress over the planning. Looking back, that is pretty crazy seeing as I have never planned something of this magnitude on my own. I woke up in the middle of the night the other day to an email completely shattering my stress-free planning. Apparently New Years is a popular travel time in Thailand. Since trains are the most popular transportation mode, all of the tickets were sold out for when we needed them. Yep, still haven't figured out this whole dilemma seeing as this was an integral part of our plan. I am trying to stay calm and tell myself that it will somehow get worked out. Breathe in, breathe out.

{FOUR}

I got these books in the mail this week and had forgotten I had ordered them almost two months ago. Girls In White Dresses is on the "Must Read in Your 20s" list so when I saw it for super cheap on Amazon I got it. I have read Hunger Games and had been meaning to read Catching Fire. I was waiting to borrow it from a friend and never did so I decided to go ahead and buy it. I have quite a few books on my reading list right now, but this one is getting bumped to the top so I can finish it before the movie comes out. 

{FIVE}

Have you all seen the "Organize Your Entire Life" pin floating around pinterest. I had pinned it awhile back when I first saw it. I am one of those people who actually looks back at what I have pinned for recipes, workouts, and such. I ran across this pin again and decided to check it out. Essentially, it is a guide on how to organize every aspect of your life. Feeling out of sorts and unmotivated this week, I needed some inspiration to get all the aspects of my life together. I am now motivated to clean, organize, minimize, and plan. Starting this weekend. Ok, so maybe this will last for a day, but hopefully I will get a lot accomplished in that day! 

Have a great weekend! I will be trying to stay motivated to organize my entire life.

Linking up with Lauren, Darci, Jennie

A Day in the Life of My Stomach

Recently I posted about my clean eating journey. I thought I would share what a typical day looks like when I am eating completely clean.

My day always starts off with a green smoothie and a big glass of water. Some days my smoothie is "greener" than others.

Mackenzie Green Smoothie:

-Vanilla Unsweetned Almond Milk

-Frozen Berries

-Kale

-Spinach

-Banana(frozen works best)

-Half scoop vanilla protein powder

-Splash of coconut water

Occasionally I add some of these: chia seeds, cucumber, carrots, apple, mango, pineapple, greek yogurt

(pineapple makes it taste great, but has tons of sugar)

I find that starting out my day with a green smoothie gives me energy and keeps me full for a long time.

Sometimes I need a snack by 10 or so. My favorite snacks:

juice, Lara Bar, carrots and hummus, cottage cheese and strawberries

Juice is my all time favorite snack. I would probably drink juice for every meal if I could

Lara Bars are tasty and so natural! The have a fairly high calorie content due to the nuts, but they are still great for you

Look at your labels! The food you eat should have very few ingredients and things you can pronounce

ingredients: dates, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cashews, extra virgin coconut oil

Such a tasty high protein snack

For lunch I usually rotate a few meals:

-Scrambled Eggs with Kale and Onion

-Avocado Egg Tuna Salad (1 hard-boiled egg, 1/2 avocado, 1 can light tuna)

-Salad with veggies and a protein (eggs or chicken)

-My version of caprese: tomato, avocado, egg, balsamic

I try to keep my meals as gluten-free as possible (at least the obvious: bread, pasta, etc). I always include veggies and a protein. These lunches are easy for me when I am home everyday, but when I have to pack a lunch, I usually make extra at dinner and pack left overs. 

Dinner varies A LOT, but I do have a few go to meals. Most of my "clean" dinners include quinoa or quinoa pasta. If I am not doing gluten-free I occasionally throw in a whole wheat pasta. 

Many grocery stores carry this quinoa pasta. It is pretty tasty, but can sometimes fall apart

another great product

My tips for cooking quinoa

Here are some of my favorite and go-to dinners:

Avocado Tomato Bowl. Recipe HERE

Roasted Veggies with a side of meat and quinoa

Portobello mushrooms stuffed with quinoa, tomato, and spinach

Cilantro Quinoa Soup. Recipe HERE

Turkey quinoa burgers with greek salad

Summer Salad. Recipe HERE

Grilled Zucchini Nachos. Recipe HERE

Other recent favorites: BBQ Califlower Salad, Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa, Turkey Thai Lettuce Wraps, and Quinoa Pasta with asparagus and artichokes

If I am eating at a restaurant, I try to stick to eating clean and have found some good options. Remember, veggies and protein!

The perfect Salmon salad with a lemon vinaigrette

I can't help but crave dessert after dinner. I try not hold off, but occasionally I have a treat. The best thing I have found: CHOBANI FLIPS. They come in 10 flavors, but my favorite is Key Lime Crumble. They aren't completely natural, but it is better than eating a real piece of Key Lime Pie. 

Frozen grapes and all-natural dark chocolate are good desserts too

A day eating like this makes my tummy very happy! The key is eating as close to nature as possible. I also make sure to include lots of veggies and protein to keep me full. Moderation and eating when you are ACTUALLY hungry, not just bored, is important.

Do you have any clean eating recipe suggestions? What makes your tummy happy? Have you found in good gluten-free or all natural products?

Linking up with Karly Kim For Totally Posted Tuesday

Avocado Tomato Quinoa Bowl

This is one of my go to meals. It is easy, healthy, and you can substitute in any vegetables you like. It is a super clean meal but doesn't sacrifice flavor. It's also an entire meal in one bowl, which I love!

Avocado Tomato Quinoa Bowl

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

I large tomato

1 ripe avocado

1/2 large yellow onion

1 cup quinoa

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

I clove garlic

1 tablespoon EVOO

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp Lawrys garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Cook the quinoa in the chicken broth using my tips here 

2. Cut up the chicken, garlic, tomato, avocado, and garlic

3. Add the EVOO to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat

4. When the pan and oil is hot, add the chicken

5. Add all of the seasonings to the chicken

6. When the chicken is about half way cooked, add the onions

7. Once the chicken is cooked and the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally

8. After about 2 minutes, add the avocado and cooked quinoa

9. Cook for another 2 minutes, and then it is ready to serve 

Feeds 2-4

Enjoy your delicious avocado tomato quinoa bowl

Linking up with Karly Kim

5 tips for cooking quinoa

Sophomore year of college, I lived with a friend from California. Californians seem to be ahead of the curve as far as healthy eating goes. She would always eat interesting things that I could not wrap my Kentucky brain around. One night she made quinoa. Of course my reaction was, "what the heck is a quinoa??"

Quinoa is not only a weird word, but a weird food in general. Quinoa, pronounced KEEN wah, is a grain-like seed. It has a weird membrane around that outside of the little seed that makes it quite interesting to look at. Quinoa is considered a "superfood" and one of the healthiest foods you can eat. It has so many health benefits, you are crazy not to include it in your diet. It is high in protein, fiber, iron, lysine, magnesium, riboflavin, and manganese(antioxidant).

I have to admit that I did not immediately start incorporating crazy amounts of quinoa into my diet. I still thought it was kind of weird and wasn't quite sure how to cook it or use it in recipes. Slowly, over the past few years, I have grown to love it and have learned how to make it taste great. It has taken lots of trial and error and advice from my mom, who uses it almost daily. Now, I don't know how I ever lived without it.

I wanted to share what I have learned about quinoa and later down the road share some recipes that include quinoa. Here are my tips:

1. Soak the quinoa before you cook it! Quinoa we buy here in the US has been stripped of saponins that give it the bitter flavor. I have found, though, that soaking it gets rid of any of that bitter flavor that might still be lingering. If you don't have much time, a good 15 minutes will do.

2. Cook it with the right amount of liquid. The right amount is 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups liquid. If you don't put enough liquid in, the quinoa will be too crunchy. Check it along the way and add more liquid if it does not seem to be soft enough.

3. Use low-sodium chicken broth. This seriously is the difference between good quinoa and excellent quinoa. Yes, it might add a bit more calories, but the flavor makes all of the difference.

4. Use a rice cooker. My mom taught me this little trick. Not only does it make fluffier quinoa, but it's so easy! You just throw it in there and don't have to worry about it until you are ready to use it. It still takes about 20 minutes, like it does in a saucepan, but so worth it.

trusty little rice cooker

5. Add flavors while cooking. When you throw the chicken broth and quinoa in your rice cooker or saucepan, throw in some flavor boosters like green onion. This will infuse flavor while it is cooking. You can use white onion, red onion, or even some spices that will compliment your dish (like cumin, my current obsession). 

I hope these tips help you incorporate more quinoa into your diet, especially since 2013 has been declared, "International Year of Quinoa."

Until Next Time,