30 Minute Meals: Sauteed Kale & Quinoa

As you may know, I am working hard to reduce the amount of animal products and processed foods my family consumes. I just bought a veggie spiralizer on Amazon to make sweet potato and zucchini noodles! It should be on my front stoop today! As part of the meat and carb reduction, I was roasting up all the veggies in my house last week, and I thought to myself, why stop now?! I'll cook everything in my fridge! A little spur of the moment? Maybe. A lot of flavor? Definitely!

Kale and quinoa may be the two trendiest ingredients on Pinterest right now, but for good reason. They are a powerhouse combo! Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there full of calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, antioxidants, fiber out the wazoo... I mean the WORKS! For a vegetable that was once just a garnish for salad bar, it's a staple it in my family's dinner rotation.

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods EVER! It's so diverse and yummy. I make breakfasts with it, I make burritos with it, soup.... Sweet or savory, you name it, I put quinoa in it - the options are endless! These delicious little pebbles are full of iron, b-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin e and has all the essential amino acids to make a complete protein. Quinoa is naturally gluten free if that's something you're concerned about. Did I mention toddler friendly too? (Although messy, very messy).

Organic Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion
4+ cloves of garlic
4 tbls olive oil (or coconut oil if you want the trendy trifecta!)
6 cups of ribbed curly kale torn into bite sized pieces
1 cup veggie stock
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or sprinkle on some "nooch" if you're vegan)
A few shakes of red pepper flakes - dependent on your heat preference

Instructions:

I chopped my onion, minced some garlic, and got that cooking in some olive oil. Once that was fragrant, and the onions were translucent (about 5 minutes), I threw in about 6 cups of curly kale with 2 tablespoons of water and covered until the kale had wilted and was tender (12 minutes or so), stirring on the reg.

While that was going, in a separate pot, I cooked up a half cup of the perfect protein, quinoa. To do that, get your stock boiling, dump in your quinoa, cover. Cook on LOW for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Once the kale was tenderoni, I tossed in the red pepper flakes, some Parmesan cheese, the cooked quinoa, and tossed it all together!

Perfect.

I took the leftovers for lunch the next day and it warmed up VERY nicely. What do you take for lunch? Do you have any leftover go-tos?

The 3 Keys to IIFYM

If you’ve spent more than 10 seconds on social media chances are pretty good that you’ve encountered the IIFYM/flexible dieting craze.

There are thousands of diets out there to choose from so what makes this one any different or better?

First, let’s break it down…IIFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros. Now that we know what that stands for, we need to understand what macronutrients or “macros” are. These little goodies are what make up your daily food intake. Simply put they are the things you need in larger (macro) amounts. They are as follows:

1. Carbohydrates – 40 to 60% of daily calories should come from carbs.
2. Protein – 10 to 30% of daily calories should come from protein.
3. Fat – 10 to 30% of daily calories should come from healthy fats.

What makes this way of eating more desirable is the fact that it really doesn’t eliminate any foods from your diet! 

By setting macro ranges, you can consume essentially whatever you want as long as it fits into your ranges at the end of the day. Craving a donut in the morning? No worries, just plug that in and adjust carbohydrate intake the rest of the day.

Fitness and meal tracking apps like Myfitnesspal make it simple to follow this lifestyle. If you are someone that gets easily caught up in what you “can” and “can’t” have during your diet I strongly recommend trying the flexible dieting route. With simple adjustments you can go from rapid fat loss to maintenance or muscle building to “getting shredded.”

For more information on IIFYM or general nutrition, reach out to Kevin Scrima, CPT via his website, Facebook, or Instagram OR comment below! 

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Post by Kevin Scrima, CPT

Where's the Beef?

Health is a very important piece of my life, and I am trying to spread it like a disease. An organic life-style has been a major focus for me for the last five years. Fruits, veggies, legumes, quinoa, and other natural foods are something my family is quite comfortable having on their plates at dinner. But the more I learn about healthy eating, the more I learn about the environment. They go hand in hand. Did you know?

CNN recently reported on the effects that Big Food is having on the environment in their article "Go Vegan, Save the Planet," but that is something I have been reading about for years. Maybe I can’t change the world, but I can certainly vote with my household dollar, and we are taking this into consideration. 

Slowly but surely, we are moving towards a plant-based diet in our home. My husband, who is of Mid-western (German) descent, loves him some of grandma’s hot dish, chicken pot pie, anything meaty, cheesy, and/or greasy. So how do I play into his dietary preference, while considering health and environmental factors? I am sneaking in plant-based “meat-like” products into our dinners. I wait until he says he loves the meal, then spill the beans. It wasn’t meat at all!

Enter “Beyond Meat!” The texture is near identical to the meat they are mimicking with plant-based products! If you follow The Simple Choice on Instagram, you will remember I used their Beyond Beef Crumbles - Beefy in our spaghetti dish this week. Could he tell? Nope. He thought I had used ground turkey or something of the like, but it was still quite “meaty” to him. Now that I have successfully, and lovingly, duped him a few times, he said he is totally cool with incorporating more of these plant-based meats into our lives without balking and me twisting his arm.

If you are worried about protein intake, fear not! Impressively, The Beyond Burger boasts 20 grams of protein vs 19 grams of protein in an animal based patty. The Beyond Burger has double the iron, nearly half the saturated fat, and ZERO cholesterol. Not a fan of soy? No problem! There isn’t any soy in their products.

We will definitely be using Beyond Meat much more frequently in our house now. I highly recommend trying their products. The less animal products we consume, the kinder we are, in every aspect of the word. 

Pre-Workout Snack: Em's Peanut Butter Toast

This is the simplest Pre-Workout Snack I know how to make. I make it for breakfast too... and any time I can really. It takes little time, less effort, and totally pays off in full! Protein, Omegas, Fiber, Anti-Inflammatory Qualities, Complex Carbs for Energy? What more could a person ask for? I love this little power snack so!

Ingredients:

• Slice of Dave's Killer Bread (or organic bread of your choice)
• Organic Peanut Butter
• Banana (sliced)
• Squeeze of Honey (or sweetener of your choice)
• Dash of Cinnamon
• Sprinkling of Mamma Chia Seeds

Instructions:

Toast bread. Spread peanut butter, strategically layer banana slices, squeeze the honey, dash your cinnamon, and sprinkle your chia seeds.

Easy, filling, and not too bad on your body!

Warning: My require a little finger licking upon completion.