Finding a cheaper way to include protein in your meal with Quinoa

Quinoa is an interesting little grain, one that I had heard a lot about but never tasted. I had often been told about how difficult it was to prepare so to be honest I was nervous about giving it a try. But when you have a grain that is high in protein and essential amino acids, making it the only plant that is a complete protein, it was one that I knew I had to at least try. When it comes to trying to watch your food budget it is very important to still find ingredients that can provide your family with the nutritional value that they need. While it might sound healthy to feed your family a salad and whole grains every day you can't leave out the essential nutritional value of protein. Discovering how amazing quinoa was helped me find one more way to serve up a healthy well balanced meal to my family without having to rely on expensive meats. Now for this particular dish I did use a bag of frozen prawns but cooking up quinoa on its own proves to be not only tasty but a great way to provide a good meal and not have to include meat. And another good thing that I learned is that quinoa is really not as hard to prepare as others had led me to believe.

Quinoa Salad with Prawns and Snow Peas

12 ounces prawns

4 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided

4 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well (see Tip)

2 tsp grated or minced garlic

3 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 cup trimmed and diagonally sliced snow peas, (1/2 inch thick)

300 g (1/2 lb) frozen, peeled, cooked prawns (shrimp)

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 cup thinly sliced onions

1/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Toss defrosted prawns with 2 tsp soy sauce in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Rinse quinoa in a strainer under running water and set aside to drip dry.

Place a large, high-sided skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and quinoa. Cook, stirring constantly, until the quinoa begins to color, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and onions and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover and cook over medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. (Do not stir.) Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

In a skillet saute snow peas and red pepper for 3-4 minutes, you want the veggies to start to soften but still have a slight crunch.







Meanwhile, whisk 3 Tbsp olive oil, the remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil in a large bowl.









Add the snow peas, scallions and bell pepper to the quinoa and gently stir to combine.







Heat a large skillet over medium-high until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water upon contact. Add the remaining 1 teaspoons of olive oil and cook the prawns for 2-3 minutes until they are just starting to brown and are warm through.

Add the prawns and dressing to the quinoa salad and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.